The Adventures of Haruhi Uzumaki
by megasean3000
Summary: Fifteen years after the defeat of Akatsuki, Naruto and Sakura lead a civil life together. They raise a daughter who is now ready to carry on her father's legacy and become the best ninja in the Hidden Leaf. But will her journey be a safe one?
1. Enter Haruhi Uzumaki

**Enter Haruhi Uzumaki!**

_Many years ago, it was said that the Village Hidden Among Leaves, had raised a champion. A champion that was said to overcome all impossible feats. Mastering techniques Hokages could not. Defeat an array of opponents multiple ninja have only dreamed of defeating. And most of all, saving the Shinobi World from extinction, from the evil criminal organization Akatsuki. In the end, both sides suffered severely, for this ninja champion had loved a friend from the criminal organization. He was seduced by power, to end a feud, but craved for more. Sasuke Uchiha, was his name, and he had been blinded from the truth, but it was too late, the champion delivered the final blow. But having did that, he had saved the Ninja World from complete ruin._

_The Champion's name: Naruto Uzumaki, Ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village, Master of the Sage Arts, and the Hokage's official successor._

_Fifteen years on, Naruto had matured into a fine adult. Thirty years into his life, he had married his one true love: Sakura Haruno, now known as Sakura Uzumaki, and in most women's eyes: luckiest Kunoichi in the Hidden Leaf Village. With her, Naruto raised his own champion, one that would surpass even him: his daughter, Haruhi Uzumaki..._

"Naruto!"

The feverent expression of the shining Naruto, turned into a frightening one, as Sakura Uzumaki emerged in her children's room. Sakura had grown much more beautiful over her fifteen years. Now wearing a pony tail over her now long hair, she still refused to wear a Jounin's garb, except on S-Class Missions, she often wore a small red vest, revealing the bottom half of her torso, and a small red skirt. Her headband remained as it is as a hair decoration. Naruto was much more dashing in his fifteen years. His whisker marks were still intact, and was now a Jounin, going on Hokage, he wore a Jounin's flak jacket underneath the symbol of his Sage Training: his black and red robes.

"Are you done telling the children their bedtime story yet? More specifically are you done telling them that story?" She asked in annoyance. Naruto was seated next to her daughter as he was telling the story of how he became the renowned ninja he was today, to his two children: Haruhi Uzumaki, aged 12, and troublemaker like her father. She had long red hair, passed on through Naruto's mother: Kushina, and had Sakura's green eyes; and Tsukune Uzumaki, Naruto's 8 year old son. Fashioned with Naruto's hair and face, he adopted Sakura's persona, particularly her attitude.

"Isn't that a little harsh, honey? I mean, I get pretty pepped up every time I hear it too." Naruto replied.

"It was nice hearing it the first two or three times. Now it's getting old." Sakura said unsympathetically.

"Heh-he. Some things in life never change, huh?" Naruto said to himself. "Well at least let me finish it."

"Yeah, mom. Daddy's story is always great." Tsukune said happily. Sakura sighed with a smile.

"Fine, but if you run late for the Academy because your father kept you up all night with his tales of "how he defeated the mighty Akatsuki", don't come home crying to me." Sakura said with a giggle before leaving.

"Phew! Thanks for sticking up for me." Naruto applauded.

"Now that mom's gone, can you please show us your...R-Rash...Raa-" Haruhi said fervently, only to get caught up.

"You want me to show you Rasengan?" Naruto assisted.

"Yeah, yeah!" Both Haruhi and Tsukune squealed in unison.

"Oh, okay. But only if you go to bed after this." Naruto said. The two children nodded wildly. Naruto chuckled before presenting his palm, to which a mass amount of Chakra swirled into his hand, forming a blue circulating ball, making it evident, that Shadow Clones were no longer necessary during the Rasengan build-up.

"Tah-dah!" Naruto said happily. Both children clapped silently, as to not attract their mother's undivided attention. But the Rasengan ball vanished with a swirl. "Okay, time for bed." Giving a kiss to each of his children, he left them to their sleepiness, or at least to Tsukune. Under Haruhi's bed, she was trying to mimic her father in the Rasengan technique. The most she can do is swirl the Chakra, but not form it into a ball. Until she was starting to run out of Chakra that she decided to call it quits.

It was already afternoon in the Ninja Academy for underage Shinobi, that Haruhi was caught again causing mischief in the girl's bathroom. She was then already caught by some of the teachers.

"Haruhi?!" Yelled one of her teachers. The girl's bathroom was completely vandalised, with toilet paper covering most of the walls, a sink ready to flood by being blocked up, and Haruhi in the midst of doing the same to the toilet.

"Oops." She said. Her sensei, a much older version of Iruka, managed to catch her. Iruka was just the same as before only more wrinklier and more grey.

"Haruhi, were you misusing your Shadow Clone Jutsu to mess up the girl's bathrooms? Again?" Asked Iruka in a much hoarser voice. He was speaking to Haruhi in front of the class, ropes tying her torso to her arms, since she refused to come quietly.

"Sort of..." She muttered. The class sniggered at her humiliation, she only cursed under her breath.

"Maybe if you spent more time practicing Jutsu, and less time misusing them, maybe you'd get better grades!" Iruka scolded.

"Those grades don't mean squat when I become a ninja!" She back-talked. Iruka sighed to himself.

"Naruto, Sakura, what deadly combo have you two made?" Thought Iruka, still very annoyed at his best student's daughter. After she was forced to clean up her mess, without the aid of Shadow Clones, she was escorted home by Iruka to the Uzumaki residence. Iruka kindly knocked the door, to reveal Sakura as cheerful as ever.

"Ahhh, Iruka-Sensei, how do I..." She said happily, before seeing her daughter's face, she immediately lit up. "What did she do this time?!" And at that, Haruhi gulped nervously. Luckily, Naruto was taking the day off, and he had time to hear Iruka out. They sat together in the living room, where it could fit nearly half of the street in, with Tsukune singing "Haruhi's in trouble, Haruhi's in trouble."

"Your daughter's been vandalising the girl's restrooms yet again, Naruto." Iruka explained. Naruto sighed.

"I take it the damage has been multiplied thanks to her Shadow Clones." Naruto predicted. Iruka nodded. Naruto rubbed his forehead, which was missing his headband. "Leave her with me. If she repeats this action again, I'll ask the Hokage to increase your pay wage."

"Hm, generous offer." Iruka said. "But I decline. After all, I'm used to putting up with the Uzumakis." Naruto gave a worried smirk, as Iruka headed for the door. "Oh, and by the way, whatever you have to say to her Naruto, it better be quick, since the Genin Exam is tomorrow." Haruhi gaped. "Remember, one trial, using Jutsu to avoid attacks. If she can do it without messing up, she'll be her ninja."

"Got it." Naruto said. Iruka paid his last respects as he left.

"What do you think you're doing, Haruhi?!" Bellowed Sakura at the top of her voice, making Haruhi flinch. "If we've told you once, we've told you a thousand times! You're Jutsu comes at a great responsibility! How can-"

"Sakura." Said Naruto easily, Sakura stopped immediately. "I thought I asked Iruka to let me handle her."

"How do you intend to change her when I've asked her to stop a hundred times already!" Sakura replied hastily.

"I have experience with this kind of situation. Remember? I was the lowly brat causing nothing but mischief?" Naruto said, still keeping calm. Sakura widened her eyes, before lowering them again.

"You're right." Sakura said with a smile, now on the same page as Naruto. "I should've known you and Haruhi are the same. You're the perfect person to handle her." Naruto smiled back. "But be sure to give her nothing but trouble though, it's the least she can recieve."

"No thanks." Naruto said. "I'll use my methods." He led Haruhi from her seat and took her outside. Although it was still early in the afternoon, Naruto had taken her to the Ichiraku Ramen stand, where Ayami was now leading the business. Haruhi nibbled into her ramen, while her father scoffed it down in one gulp, once he was finished, he looked over at her. "So Haruhi, why'd you do it?"

"Destroy the girl's bathroom?" She asked before taking another noodle with her chopsticks.

"Yeah. If I'm right in thinking, you'd suffer too, since it's your bathroom. At least do it to the boy's if you're planning to do it again." Naruto said with a smile. Haruhi widened her eyes in thought. "But you can't. Cus if you do, then I'll be scolded by your mom. And is this how the daughter of the next Hokage's supposed to act?"

"N-No!" Haruhi said in haste. "You told me you were once a troublemaker, and so I wanted to do what you did. Cause mischief, and still be recognised as a ninja."

"Haruhi. That was over fifteen years ago, when I was still in the Academy. I was an idiot back then. Also, I did it because no one respected me." Naruto replied with hesitation on the last sentence. "I was an orphan who was thought to be a monster. You have two loving parents, and have a reputation as the next Hokage's daughter to uphold."

"I don't want that reputation, dad." She said angrily. "You're seen as the strongest ninja in the Village. I don't want to be seen as the strongest ninja's daughter, I want to be seen as Haruhi Uzumaki, next strongest ninja to Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto smiled.

"Good point. But do you want to achieve that goal through petty acts?" He replied.

"No." She said sadly. Naruto seeing her sadness, decided to cheer her up.

"Hey. I got a deal for you. If you promise to be a good girl from now on, I'll teach you how to ace the final exam." Haruhi immediately went out of her depression and hugged her father.

"Thank you, daddy." She said happily. Naruto smiled before ordering another ramen for himself.

Later on in the night, after the family had a proper meal, Naruto was currently teaching Haruhi how to Substitute in the gardens. It was getting late in the night, and only when Sakura seen them training that she went to them.

"Naruto, Haruhi, it's getting late. C'mon in before you catch a cold." She called before going inside.

"Alright, honey, you're all good. Use that Jutsu in the exam, and you'll be fine." Naruto said. Haruhi gave a saddened look. "Somethin' troubling you, honey?"

"Do you think I'll pass this exam?" She asked all of a sudden. "It's my only chance to become a Genin, and I'm risking it all with a technique I learned tonight." Naruto looked down at his daughter, smiled and patted her head.

"You needn't worry. I know you to have my gut instinct. If you run into trouble, you'll know how to get out of it." He said.

"But daddy. Substitution's good and all, but I wanna know how to do killer moves to pass the test, like Rasengan." Haruhi said. Naruto patted her head again.

"And why would you want to learn that move?" Asked Naruto.

"Because, if I can show them a power technique like that, they'll want to make me a Genin." Naruto laughed to himself.

"You got guts to wanna know that move." He replied. "Rasengan usually takes three years to master. I mastered it in a week, but only because I had additional help." Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "This is how I do it now." Naruto raised a palm and called forth Chakra that spiralled in his hand, then made it vanish. "This was how I used to do it. Shadow Clone Jutsu." He summoned a Clone and raised his hand again, only this time, the Clone had to swirl the Chakra. Haruhi was amazed by this, since her father took a week to master it. "I don't expect you to master it, even Sakura had trouble mastering it."

"Mom knows Rasengan?!" Haruhi exclaimed.

"Yeah. She kept pounding me to give her tips to do it." Naruto said with a snigger. "Besides, even if you somehow mastered Rasengan this very night, the exam is about avoiding attacks, not using Rasengan and get attacked anyway. But enough chat, time for bed." Haruhi noticed many Kunai lying on the ground because of Naruto's constant throwing at her.

"I think I'll stay and pick up these Kunai." She called to her father. Naruto turned around to her. "Y'know mom. If she sees her precious garden littered with Kunai..."

"Yeah, good point. I don't need a hint as to what'll happen then." Naruto said scratching his head. Naruto headed inside. "Thanks, Haruhi." When she made sure he was away, she used her Shadow Clones to clean the gardens. Then she looked around.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She called out. A Clone of herself appeared. "Okay, Haruhi. If you want to be the strongest ninja in the Village, prove you can master Rasengan!" She opened her palm and focused her Chakra, then the Clone tried to focus it into a ball, but the Chakra exploded in her hand, because of the lack of concentration. "Arghhh! What happened there?!" But clamped her mouth shut, as to not give her position away. "One more time." It took a few hours of trying to master Rasengan, that she actually got close to focusing it, that it dispersed. She was about to perform another Rasengan before she passed out through lack of Chakra. Thankfully, her mother and father were watching from their room.

"She has your stamina." Sakura said quietly.

"And your temper." Naruto replied. Sakura gave him a cold look, before she laughed heartedly. The two took the passed out Haruhi to her room to sleep. Naruto placed a blanket over her daughter. "I hope she doesn't try and use Rasengan tomorrow."

"Knowing her, I wouldn't bet my life on it." Sakura said in a low voice.

"What?!" Screamed Naruto quietly. "Sakura! What's that supposed to mean?!" Sakura giggled to herself and walked out.

"Come on you." Sakura said. Naruto looked into the sleeping eyes of her daughter before leaving their children's room along with Sakura.

"Nee...san... Haru... Haruhi!" Yelled a very familiar voice. But despite the commanding voice, she refused to leave her dream world. Then, she felt a large splash whallop her face. The chill and the fright got her up immediately with a scream. She shivered intensely, to see the culprit is her brother: Tsukune, holding a bucket, which was once filled with water.

"You...little!" Haruhi yelled in frustration. But before she could reap her revenge on him, she looked around the room. The sunlight had entered their room, and she identified it as morning. "What time is it?!" Tsukune looked at the sun.

"Hmmmm...around half an hour 'till nine." He replied. Haruhi was shocked.

"How come you can tell the time with sunlight, you little twerp." Haruhi said with spite in her voice. But nonetheless, widened her eyes in shock from the time. "I've only got half an hour 'till my exam!" Quickly, she got up from her drenched bed, dried herself and dressed into her orange dress. "Why didn't you wake me, idiot?!"

"I tried to. You sleep like a rock, Haruhi nee-san. Pouring water was my last resort, if I didn't want mom punching me to the Academy." Tsukune replied.

"Grrrr! I'll deal with you later!" She yelled before leaving her room. Haruhi raced out of her home, past her mother, who wished her luck. She raced through the streets of the Hidden Leaf, trying to defeat time. It was often a half an hour walk to the Academy, without shortcuts. Now she was running and taking all shortcuts possible. When she arrived at the Academy, she seen her classmates gathered outside in the playground, where Iruka was registering them. It was only when he called out: "Uzumaki Haruhi." that she decided to use force. By creating a Shadow Clone to throw herself into the group.

"Here and ready, sir!" She called in a tired voice.

"Let's hope your training is as better as your timing." Iruka commented. They formed a line outside the examination hall, in alphabetical order, so to be tested. Haruhi was last in line, not just because of her status as "class clown", but her surname came last alphabetically. Many of her colleagues left, carrying with them a blue headband, with a steel plate at the center, with the Leaf symbol carved on it. She grew ever more jealous with each passing student. Eventually, she heard Iruka once more.

"Haruhi. You're up." He called. Before she entered, Iruka stopped her, by placing his hand on her shoulder. "I know I'm not supposed to pick sides during exams, but I hope you pass." Haruhi was stunned by this comment.

"...Why? You hated me. Everytime I do something wrong you take great pleasure in punishing me. Or is it just to get rid of me?" Haruhi said shockingly. Iruka smirked.

"No, no. I admit I get headaches when trying to cope with you. But truth be told, I enjoyed it when you caused trouble." He replied. "It always made me think back on Naruto when he was little. Also, I made your dad a promise." Iruka thought back to the time when Haruhi was just a baby. Iruka had visited the Uzumaki family.

"_My, she's a beautiful baby, Naruto_." Commented a younger Iruka, looking into the sleeping child of Haruhi in Sakura's arms.

"_Definately_." A still-teenaged Naruto replied. "_I know she'll grow up to make her father proud_."

"_I'm sure the sight of her makes you proud already_." Iruka said happily.

"_Yeah_." Naruto said with a smile. "_You will look after her, right?"_Iruka replied with a mumble. "_I know that she'll cause trouble, like me, once she reaches the Academy. Vandalise the Hokage monuments. Create even more pervy Jutsu. I know I'm asking a lot. But try and put up with her_." Iruka smiled.

"_I will. That's a promise. I've already got experience handling one Uzumaki_." Joked Iruka.

"_What's that supposed to mean_?!" Whined Naruto, placing his arms behind his head. Naruto spoke too loud, that Haruhi woke up, and started crying. Sakura gave Naruto an evil glare. Iruka couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's predicament. Back in reality, Haruhi was gobsmacked with that story.

"I-I never knew." Haruhi said looking down in remorse. "Iruka-Sensei, I'm so, so sorry to cause you all that trouble." Iruka nonetheless continued smiling.

"Don't be. It was always a pleasure working with my student's daughter." Iruka replied. Haruhi looked up to him and smiled. "Now you better hurry. You can't expect them to wait forever." Haruhi forgot about the exam, and panicked.

"Oh, right. Thank you, Iruka-Sensei. And...thank you for putting up with me." She said quickly at the start and happily at the end.

"My pleasure."

Haruhi walked forward into the exam hall. There were four ninja-like proctors there, most likely Chuunin, sitting at a long oak table, and a wide space, presumably to perform the exam. Before she could get herself confortable with her surroundings, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Called one of the proctors. And to Haruhi's surprise, came her father. The four proctors looked in amazement to see Naruto.

"Ughh...Naruto-sama." They said, while bowing their head. His reputation as a ninja had certainly made him famous, even if he wasn't Hokage yet.

"Please, I don't need the bowing." Said Naruto. The four stood up straight.

"What brings the Hokage's successor to this girl's exam?" Another proctor asked.

"She's my daughter. And I thought I'd drop in to see how she does." Naruto explained. Haruhi jumped in her father's way.

"Ummm...that's okay, daddy. I know you've taken time out of doing big ninja business to be here, but I'd prefer it if I were alone. Ha-ha-ha." She said quickly and less formerly.

"You don't expect me to turn up to the Hokage and say "Sorry, but my daughter tossed me out", do you?" Naruto replied, with a laugh at the end.

"I....guess not." Haruhi said, still quite shocked at her father's sudden appearance.

"But...Naruto-sama. It's strict policy that nobody except the examinors and examinee are present. N-Not that we suspect you of supplying your daughter with cheats." Said one of the proctors.

"She doesn't need me, or the use of cheating." Naruto said. "Is watching your daughter make history such a crime?" Haruhi watched as Naruto kept his cool when dealing with the proctors.

"N-No." They said in unison. Naruto took a spare chair that was positioned in a far corner. Once Naruto got comfortable they began.

"Now, Haruhi Uzumaki, prepare yourself." Commanded one of the proctors. Before she could move, she heard a small crack of some sort, like the crack of glass. She peered to the nearby window, which had a tiny chip. Suddenly, the entire window shattered.

"W-What?!" yelled the four proctors in confusion. In amongst the shattering glass, they didn't notice that a figure had made it's way towards Naruto, and using a long katana, stabbed his shoulder. Naruto gave a grunt of pain, and coughed up some blood.

"Daddy!" Yelled Haruhi in worry. The attacker was a six foot tall giant of a ninja, wearing a long black jacket. Under them appeared to be many swords. His head-band was nowhere to be found, he possessed long black messy hair, looked to have many scars on his face, and most of all, he was standing in front of Naruto with a sword impaled in him. Haruhi was about to run into action, before the four Chuunin attempted to attack the assassin. Without a forward glance, he sent all the swords in his arsenal swirling at them, either cutting them deeply, or impaling limbs. All four were wiped out in seconds, either knocked unconscious or fatally wounded. Haruhi looked in in fear of what the assassin was about to do to her father, while gathering his swods together.

"You left your guard down." The man said with a growl. Naruto looked up at him with a serious face.

"Ughh...Katakuna! Famous Sword Rogue Ninja!" Naruto identified, trying to mask his pain. "You've been causing the Hidden Leaf a lot of trouble lately!"

"Heh! And it's only fitting that I cause trouble for the Hokage's successor!" The ninja named Katakuna growled. He removed his sword from Naruto, but before he could counter-attack with his impressive Hokage skills, he couldn't move. "Don't bother trying to attack! I've dipped my entire arsenal with a special substance which blocks out brain signals to the nervous system once it enters the blood! Put short, you can't move!" Naruto hissed.

"This isn't good!" He thought. Katakuna raised his sword, much to Naruto's insecurity.

"Now Die!!!" He yelled as he struck for Naruto's neck. Before the metal blade could meet it's mark, the possessor was thrown back by a powerful kick, familiar to Naruto.

"S-Sakura? No, hers is more stronger. Then who...?" Naruto asked in question. And to his surprise as well as worry: Haruhi was standing before him. "Haruhi! Don't just stand there! Run away!! This guy is dangerous and will kill you!"

"No way, dad!" Haruhi said with bravery. "Nobody messes with my father and gets away with it!" Katakuna jumped back up. "If you ever lay a finger on my dad again! I'll kill you!"

"Heh! You've got guts, kid! Not many people can touch me, let alone kick me! I'll make sure you regret that!" He said with anger.

"Your fight's with me! Leave her out of it!" Yelled Naruto, still numb with the poison.

"Don't think so!" Katakuna yelled. "The little dog bites at me, the big dog bites back!" He yelled. And just like before, he aimed all his swords for Haruhi. It made impact, but happened to be a Shadow Clone. "Shadow Clone, huh? All the more fun!"

"Over here!" Called Haruhi, he turned around to see Haruhi in the far side of the room from him. He smirked and extended the sword in his hand by over four times it's original length, and swiped everything in Haruhi's path, chairs and all. Haruhi made a desperate jump to avoid it. While in mid-air, Katakuna jumped to her level, and she was wide-open to his sword attack.

"Die!!" He yelled as he swung his sword.

"Haruhi!!!" Yelled Naruto. Haruhi looked in fright of the swords attack. With her bare hands, she slapped them both on the edge of the blade, trying not to get cut by it. She could feel the poisonous substance on her hand. The two landed and Katakuna was now trying to force the blade down onto her face. Desperately she tried to hold on.

"No use!" He said confidently. Taking one hand away from his first sword, he drew another from under his jacket. Haruhi gasped at this as the rogue ninja attacked her. The slash was successful, but the target was another Shadow Clone. "What?! Where is she now?! Huh?!" He looked frantically around. Haruhi appeared behind Katakuna, and attempted to kick him again, but he ducked and tried to stab her from under, but failed as it was another Shadow Clone. "Gaarghhh!!! Quit hiding behind your Shadow Clones, girl!!" It was after another three or four attempted attacks of Katakuna, that his slashes were becoming more rage infested. It was until, Katakuna finally punched her with such force, that his attacks cooled down. The punch was so hard that she was thrown back by the force and collided with the wall. She gave a weakened cough.

"Haruhi!" Yelled Naruto. She tried to get up, but was too weakened.

"Heh! You came a good way, kid! But face it...!" He yelled. Then he pointed a sword to Haruhi's neck. "You couldn't beat me in your wildest daydreams!" He rose his sword and attacked her. But it was yet another Shadow Clone. The real Haruhi was then seen far away behind Katakuna, accompanied with a second Haruhi, and preparing a Chakra ball.

"What're you doing, Haruhi?! You can't master that technique in just one night!" Naruto warned her, no longer playing.

"I know, dad." Haruhi said, while trying to keep her focus. "But, it's the only thing I have to beat him!" Her Chakra was starting to turn it into a ball.

"Give it more power!" Warned Naruto. Then, the ball started to glow even brighter than Naruto's Rasengan. But the rogue ninja didn't wait to be attacked. He charged straight for Haruhi, who was still preparing it.

"Do it..." Haruhi thought. The menacing figure approached ever so closer. "Do it!" It was until Katakuna was directly in front of her that she began to panic. "Do it!!!" Katakuna's sword was ready to pierce her, then she felt a surge in her body, that gave her hope. "Now!!!"

"Rasengan!!!" She called out, and before the sword could touch her pure skin, she blasted the ball of Chakra into Katakuna, blasting him backwards, and destroying the proctor's table. Haruhi was breathing frantically, before dropping to her knees.

"Incredible." Thought Naruto. "She did it! She beat a ninja many of my squads had trouble scratching. And all with a technique I had doubts of her learning." He watched Haruhi, who was still breathing frantically. "Haruhi, you're amazing." But despite Haruhi's best effort, it was in vain. Katakuna stood up from the destroyed desk, weakened but alive. Haruhi ran a chill through her spine, and Naruto looked on worriedly.

"That was...a good one, kid! Too bad! YOU DIE!!!" He yelled. He ran towards Haruhi, sword in hand and ready to strike her down.

"I got no more Chakra left for a Shadow Clone!" Haruhi thought in panic. "My body's still too weak from his attacks to dodge! It's finished!" The rogue ninja was now inches away from her, raising his sword, he prepared a finishing blow to the weakened girl. Haruhi closed her eyes to get the pain overwith. But fortunately for her, it was over for Katakuna. The sword was stopped by none other than Naruto with his left hand.

"Daddy!" Screamed Haruhi in joy.

"You!" Katakuna growled. "You're supposed to be paralyzed."

"That's what happens when you marry the best Medical-Ninja in the Leaf Village." Naruto said in spite. "I learned to control my Chakra to drive any poison into any unwanted part of my body. Such as your poison, I transferred it all to my right arm." Haruhi pushed Naruto's right arm, to see it swing lifelessly. "But I don't need two arms to take out a scumbag like you!"

"Heh! You talk big!" Katakuna growled. He removed yet another sword from his jacket and was ready to attack Naruto. But befrore the blade could lower, Naruto made the first move. By using his Rasengan on the attacker's chest, blasting him onto the wall, and practically knocking him stone dead.

"Nobody messes with my family and lives to tell the tale." Grunted Naruto. He gaped and fell to his knees.

"Daddy!" Haruhi yelled in exhaustion.

"I'm fine, honey. Just a little tired from all the Chakra circulating." Naruto assured her. "Hey, you did brilliant out there." Haruhi gasped and smiled. "If it weren't for you and your bravery, I'd be done for." With all his strength, he crawled over to Haruhi and gave her a soft hug, at least, with his left hand. "I love you, Haruhi. And I wouldn've asked for a better daughter." Haruhi drew a tear of happiness.

"Thanks, dad." She said with a small sniffle. They separated and Naruto clenched his shoulder.

"Hey, you wouldn't know any of Sakura's healing techniques, would you?"

"Oh, ummm...I seen mom do it before whenever I hurt myself. I don't know how it works, but I can give it a try." But before she could memorize the hand seals to performing the healing techniques, the doors banged wide open to reveal Sakura rushing to Naruto and Haruhi's aid.

"Naruto!! Haruhi!!" She screamed in panic. Then she grouped them all together in a heart-warming hug. "I came as soon as I heard! I was so worried about you!" She let by tear after tear as she cried in happiness that her husband and daughter weren't dead.

"We're fine. But you should thank Haruhi here. She saved me." Naruto said, while returning the hugs. Sakura then focussed her efforts in hugging Haruhi.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, honey." She said tear at a time.

"It's okay, mom." Haruhi said happily.

"But how'd you find out about us?" Naruto asked.

"Iruka warned me." Sakura said, while wiping away her tears. "He seen you being attacked and called reinforcements." Naruto peered over Sakura to see Iruka giving a thumbs-up.

"Hey Iruka!" Called Naruto. "You don't think you can contact the Interrogation Bay and have Ino and her guys see what they can find in this guy, can you?"

"Sure thing, Naruto!" Said Iruka, while running to send a messenger to Ino.

"But...what about me?" Asked Haruhi. "What happens to me now? I'm all out of Chakra and I still haven't done the test."

"I beg to differ." Said an unfamiliar voice. It was one of the proctors attacked earlier, who was still conscious. Sakura waved for a group of Medical-Ninja to heal their wounds. "I saw the whole thing. The way you dodged the assailant's attacks was truly remarkable. The best I've seen today. So, I don't have any doubts presenting you..." Once his injuries were healed, he walked over to the destroyed desk, pulled out a lone headband, went over to Haruhi and tied the headband to her forehead. "...With this. You graduate." Haruhi felt the steel plate of the headband and smiled uncontrollably.

"I did it! I did it!!!" She screamed back and forth, while hugging her parents. Naruto and Sakura too smiled with pride, as their daughter was now a full-fledged ninja.


	2. The Squads are Decided

**The Squads are Decided!**

"A woman?!" Squealed a dumbfounded Haruhi. Herself, her father and her mother were presented in front of the Hokage, who was still the Fifth Hokage: Tsunade. She was still under the influence of her transformed state. "The Hokage, the strongest ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village is a woman?!" Tsunade grew a large vein across her head.

"Is there a problem, young Uzumaki?" she said while cracking her knuckles. Haruhi flinched.

"Ummm...no, not at all." She said hastily.

"Even though she's a woman, Haruhi, she's still a very strong ninja. Her strength is probably better than your mother's." Naruto said, then chuckled. "But perhaps her age begs to differ." Tsunade glared at Naruto.

"Really? How old is she?" Asked Haruhi. Naruto massaged his chin.

"I dunno. Although she's looks about thirty...or forty, I'd say she's over seventy or over eighty or..." Naruto said, while Sakura tried to wave them hints to be quiet, for now Tsunade was raging. Her rage was transferred onto Naruto, as she punched him to the other side of the room. Haruhi was shocked.

"You being injured has no effect on me!" Tsunade yelled. "When someone mentions my age like that, I don't go easy on anyone!" Haruhi and Sakura had to lift Naruto back on his feet.

"Sorry...Grandma." Naruto said weakly. Tsunade relaxed.

"Now, we have business to deal with." Tsunade said calmly. "What is the situation with your attacker?"

"Good. Ino's running scans on him, to see if there was more to the attack." Naruto replied.

"And your injuries?"

"On the mend. As long as I'm with Sakura."

"Good. Until you fully heal, take all necessary days off. I'll announce the Jounin who will take over the Genin squads." Tsunade said.

"Errrr...If you don't mind, Grandma, can I still do that job? I have a personal Jounin who I need to see to do it." Naruto said.

"Very well. It doesn't start until tomorrow, so rest up." Tsunade said.

"Then, why am I here?" Asked Haruhi.

"You're here so I can thank you." Tsunade said. Haruhi raised an eyebrow.

"Why? I didn't do anything?" Haruhi said modestly.

"Not true. You saved the one who will replace me as Hokage soon. Without Naruto, this village would be lost. So as the Hokage, I thank you." Tsunade said. Haruhi smiled gently.

"Your welcome, Tsunade-sama." Haruhi said, lowering her head.

"See, Naruto? At least Haruhi doesn't have the guts to call me Grandma!" Tsunade said. Naruto scratched his head.

"I can't help it, y'know. Since I called you Grandma before you became Hokage, it's kinda hard to ditch the habit." Naruto said.

"Well, heal up. And Haruhi, good luck with your new squad." Tsunade said.

"Yes!" Replied Haruhi feverently. Together with her mother, she led Naruto out of the office. "I still find it weird that the Hokage's a woman." Naruto chuckled, while Sakura tutted.

"But now that the family's alone together, I should speak to you, Haruhi." Naruto said more seriously.

"About what?" Asked Haruhi.

"Rasengan." Naruto began. "Or at least your Rasengan." Haruhi looked on in confusion. "As your dad, I don't think you should use Rasengan as much." Haruhi gaped.

"Why not?! Are you jealous that I mastered it in a shorter time?" Haruhi squealed angrily. Naruto gaped as well.

"I never thought about that. But no, your Rasengan was too weak to conjure up. It took about fifteen seconds to use it fully, in the meantime you were vulnerable. And when it was ready, the damage wasn't good enough to harm an enemy. Not to mention it wasted a chunk of your Chakra, leaving you vulnerable again. It's more trouble than it's worth, really."

"It's not like your dad wants to defend his title of "Mastering Rasengan in a Week." He's just concerned that if you use it in battle, it will just get you in more trouble than you're already in." Sakura said worriedly. Haruhi lowered her head in sadness.

"I thought I perfected it." Haruhi said. Naruto and Sakura pitied their crestfallen daughter.

"Hey. That's why you have a mom and dad who've already mastered it. We'll teach you how to fully master it, if you do well with your team." Naruto said. Haruhi's face lit up with joy.

"Do you promise?!" She said seriously.

"Promise." Naruto and Sakura said together. Haruhi smiled happily. Giving her father and mother a warm hug. Once Tsukune was brought home after his Academy lessons, with him too worrying over his father's wounds, Haruhi laid in her bedside, staring into the headband she just recieved. "I suppose it begins here."

The next day drew in faster than expected for Haruhi. It was now the day that her Genin team will be decided. She was now looking in the mirror, to see which position best suited her Leaf Headband. She tried her forehead, like her father, too overused. She tried using it as a hair decoration, like her mother, but it didn't suit her. Then, she hung it over her neck, and smiled.

"Perfect." Said Haruhi. Once she made sure her father was perfectly fit again, she, and her brother, Tsukune, made their way towards the Academy.

"You're so lucky, Haruhi nee-san. You get to be a ninja, and I'm still in the Academy." Tsukune whined.

"It's no big deal, really." Haruhi said. "After all, I'm the one that's gonna surpass daddy." She said this with high confidence.

"Yeah, right." Tsukune said. "You're good, but no one can beat daddy." Haruhi growled at her brother's honesty. Soon the two arrived at the Academy, Tsukune went his own way to his normal classes, while Haruhi went to her classroom, where they'll be grouped into their teams. She looked all around her for good team mates. Some looked to be completely weak, while others looked to be experts. During her walk to her chair, she seen the same group of girls huddled around their usual spot. Mostly, Haruhi suspected them of having their usual fashion tip discussions, but when some of the girls moved a few inches away, she seen they were crowding around a boy her age. He had long spiky black hair, that hung over the sides of his face, and became spikier at the back of his head. his face looked to be completely blank. He wore a long white robe, tied together with a sash. On the outside, Haruhi suspected him of having completely powerful Jutsu. Snapping out of her trance, she took a seat where she usually sat, if she wasn't causing trouble.

"Who is that kid anyway?" Asked Haruhi in an annoyed way, that most of the girls were huddled round that one boy.

"He's only the second best person who passed the Exam." Said an unfamiliar voice. It came from directly next to her. She peered round to see another boy she had no affiliation with. He had short spiky black hair, with a pony tail at the back of his hair. He had uncaring dark eyes, and wore a t-shirt with a red stripped pattern at the collar.

"I'm not all that good with names." Haruhi said. The boy grunted.

"Shikari Nara. Third best in the exam." The boy said offering a handshake. Haruhi accepted it.

"So, who is that girl magnet?" Asked Haruhi.

"He's Takai Kataki. He was supposed to be the best in the exam, until some girl knocked him out of the water." Shikari said.

"Takai...Kataki?" Haruhi said in wonder. "Do you know who came first?"

"Phhhht! Some Kunoichi you are. Such a drag." Shikari said. Haruhi lit up.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means you were the best, dummy!" Shikari said. Haruhi gave a dumbfounded look. Then looked over to Takai, who returned the look with a mindless glare that made her flinch.

"I hope I don't get paired with him." Haruhi said. At that, Iruka came in with a long sheet of paper.

"Alright! The Genin teams have been decided!" He said feverently. "The class will be split into ten teams of three. From this point onwards, you'll work together with your teammates and allocated Jounin leader, until you're ready to become a Shinobi on your own." He started listing down the teams from Team 1 all the way up. Every time one team was decided, there was either a sigh of relief from the girls who still had a chance with Takai, and a moan of sadness from the unlucky girl who didn't. Eventually, Team 8 was announced. "Haruhi Uzumaki!" Haruhi flinched at the call of her name. Inside she crossed her fingers for someone good. "Shikari Nara." Haruhi sighed in relief.

"Isn't that lucky?" Asked Shikari. But before she could get comfortable, or at least give a victory pose, Iruka announced the third team member.

"And Takai Kataki." Both Haruhi and Shikari flinched in fright at the mention of their third ally. They peered round to see Takai give a grunt with a smile.

"What a drag." Said Shikari folding his arms.

"This can't be good." Said Haruhi sadly. Unknown to them, every girl in the classroom was growling at Haruhi, for her luck she didn't know of.

The school day was ended when the last of the class was paired into the last group. Haruhi was walking back to her house, ever so thinking of the enigma that was Takai. His evil glare, his evil smile, they couldn't escape her mind, that whoever he was, it was certain he was no good. It was soon after turning a corner, that she collided into someone. Both fell onto their behinds, and massaging their head with the pain that they inflicted on themselves.

"Watch were you're going, idiot!" Haruhi yelled in anger. But to her dismay, the person she collided into was Takai. He got up without a word and walked away. "Hey wait!" She ran up to him and pulled him back so they were face-to-face. "Just thought I'd like to say hi. Since we're teammates now, thought we can be friends." Takai didn't seem at all interested.

"Whatever." He said in a low voice, and walked away. Haruhi was left gobsmacked at Takai's coolness in walking off.

"Idiot." She thought to herself.

"I heard that." Takai called back. Haruhi gaped suddenly. She never said a word, but Takai still replied. Haruhi's eyes were left wide open as she fled even faster than normal.

Naruto was now fully healed from his injuries the previous day, and was now preparing to present himself in front of the Jounin who were to become the leaders of the Genin Squads. Sakura, being his number two, was with him at the time.

"You'll be fine, Naruto. You've been training them for the past year, so now you can see them off." Sakura assured him. Naruto smiled.

"Yeah. But remember, our daughter's leader's about to be picked. I don't know which of them's ready to train her." Naruto said.

"I'm sure every one of them can do it." Sakura said. Naruto gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I know, Sakura."

He presented himself in front of the ten Jounin, whom were his underlings for a year. They were in the Jounin meeting room, often where the Hokage gives out commands to them. Many of them he knew personally, others, he seen here and there. Him and Sakura faced them.

"Alright. You've been training with me for a year now. And today, the Genin squads will be decided. I believe you're ready to take over them squads as leaders." Naruto began. "I have taught you everything I know. Now it's your turn to teach them all you know. I have every bit of confidence you'll teach the new generation how to become brilliant ninja. Now, come forward, and you'll be allocated to your teams." Each jounin came forward, and took a card from a table, which showed the allocated teams. Until eventually, a Jounin around the same height as Naruto came forward. He had a rugged beard and happy looking demeanor, he wore a Jounin's flak jacket, and wore his headband to his forehead. Naruto smiled. "Good luck, Konohamaru." The now grown-up child called Konohamaru, took one card from the pile. On looking at it, he grunted with surprise at his results: Team 8, with the names "Haruhi Uzumaki, Shikari Nara and Takai Kataki" written on it.

"Talk about lucky, Sempai." Konohamaru said, presenting his card to Naruto and Sakura. They too were shocked at the results.

"Take care of her, yah hear?" Naruto said, putting a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder.

"You can count on me." He said happily. Konohamaru walked away, to prepare himself in meeting his hero's daughter. On the way, he gave a smile to a Jounin woman his age, with long black hair, and lavender eyes.


	3. Team 8's Leader! Konohamaru Sarutobi!

**Team 8's leader! Konohamaru Sarutobi!**

The day after that grew ever more faster than ever. Possibly because Haruhi kept begging her father to give inside information as to who was her commanding Jounin, but to no avail. The next day seen the ten teams being escorted by their Jounin to start their lessons into being a ninja from their usual classroom. The last team to be taken were Team 8: Haruhi, Shikari and Takai, who were still waiting on their unidentified Jounin.

"Why isn't he here yet?" Asked Haruhi impatiently. She was pacing up and down the classroom, in worry, anxiety, and to keep herself amused. Shikari and Takai remained seated.

"Calm down! It's not like he's late." Shikari said to Haruhi while kicking his feet on the desk. "It's only a minute to nine. Maybe he's an on-the-dot Jounin. Besides, more time for me to relax." Haruhi looked at the clock on the top of the classroom, it was only ten seconds until it was nine o' clock. She peered outside to see if anyone was coming. Nothing. It was impossible for him, or her, to arrive on time now. Then, when the seconds hand reached 12, a puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the class. It alarmed the three as to what it was, and when the smoke died down, there was a Jounin on the spot. He had a beard growing on the outskirts of his jaw, long spiky hair that was focussed upwards, a Jounin's flak jacket, with the full body suit under it, and wore finger-less gloves. The three were stunned by his sudden appearance.

"Yo!" He said abruptly. "Don't tell me I scared yah?" The three gathered themselves together.

"Ummmm...we thought you'd be late?" Said Haruhi.

"I have nothing to be late for, kid." He replied. "So, this it?" The three looked at themselves.

"Yeah? It is three a team, right?" Said Shikari.

"Good. Less hassle for me then."

The Jounin took them to a small meeting spot on the roof of one of the many buildings of the Hidden Leaf Village. It had a stone bench that the three Genin sat down on, while the Jounin sat on the railings directly in front of it.

"Alright. Introduction time. Say a bit about yourself and your goals of becoming a ninja." Explained the Jounin.

"What do we say, Sensei?" Asked Haruhi innocently.

"I'll start off, and you follow suit, 'kay?" The Jounin said. Haruhi nodded. "Hello. I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi. Grandson of the famous Third Hokage. I like developing new Jutsu, so I can become stronger everyday. My dream is to become a Hokage one day, after Naruto Uzumaki, of course." On the mention of Haruhi's dad, she gasped. "Alright, you get the drill. Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, goals in life, you get the picture. Starting off with the red-haired girl." Haruhi pointed to herself.

"Me?" She asked. Konohamaru nodded. "Okay." She paused to think what to say. "I'm Haruhi Uzumaki, daughter of Naruto and Sakura Uzumaki." On saying this, Konohamaru smiled, and she could hear Takai give a grunt of surprise. "I have tonnes of dreams, like becoming Hokage, and making my daddy proud."

"I'm sure he's already proud of you, Haruhi." Konohamaru said gently. Haruhi smiled. "Now, what about you? The one with the short hair." Shikari reacted.

"I'm Shikari Nara. Son of Shikamaru and Temari Nara. I like it when things go my way, cus it's a drag trying to get it your way. And my dream is to be a top-rank ninja like my dad, seeing as he's an expert ninja."

"Nice. Keep at it, and you will." Konohamaru said. "And finally, you. The long-haired kid." Takai didn't budge at the call of his appearance.

"My name is Takai Kataki. Known well for my expert use in Ninjutsu. I don't have any likes or dislikes, all I have is a goal for the future. And that goal, I like to keep to myself." Haruhi's eyes widened at the fear factor of Takai and his introduction. Shikari raised an eyebrow, as did Konohamaru.

"Interesting intro, Takai." Konohamaru complimented. "Alright, before we go off on missions together, you're gonna do a little test for me." Shikari pouted.

"_More tests_?!" He exclaimed in annoyance.

"Well, it's not really a test." Konohamaru replied, while scratching his head. "It's a way for me to know your strengths and weaknesses. So, as a team, we can overcome them together. So when it comes to real missions, we can be ready for anything. Feel up for it?"

"Yeah!" Exclaimed Haruhi. "I never back down from a challenge!"

"I suppose." Takai said emotionlessly.

"Phhht. Guess I'll have to then." Shikari said in more annoyance. Konohamaru smiled.

"That's the spirit. Follow me." He said. He jumped off the rail and headed towards the door leading to the stairs. Like a rat to a piper, they followed.

Konohamaru took them to the innards of the forest, where a long plain was situated. When Team 8 reached the centre of this meadow, he turned towards them.

"Okay, team. Here're the rules to this test." He began. Haruhi readied herself for whatever it was. "It's just past ten o' clock, you have until noon to survive me." He paused.

"Ummmm...we might need a bit more detail, Sensei." Haruhi said. Konohamaru sighed.

"Fine, fine." He replied. "I will do all it takes to capture all three of you. It is your job, as Genin, to fend me off as long as possible until noon. You can use any Jutsu you like, provided they aren't forbidden, but so can I. If one team mate has been captured, the others can free him or her. The test will end when noon strikes or when I catch all of you. If all three of you remain out of my grasp until then, we can go straight for missions. If all three of you are captured, then...that's up to me to decide." Haruhi gulped. Shikari grunted in irritance. And Takai remained still. "Alright. On your way!" Haruhi flinched at the sudden start. Konohamaru made the first move by running straight for them. Shikari reacted suddenly and made a hand seal. Then Konohamaru stopped in his tracks. Haruhi seen that Shikari's shadow was stretched all the way over to Konohamaru, which joined with his shadow.

"Shadow Possesion Jutsu!" Shikari called. "Secret Jutsu of the Nara Clan."

"So I see." Konohamaru said with great effort.

"Alright, make a run for it! I'll hold him off!" Shikari said. At that, Konohamaru sighed.

"What?! No way! I'm fighting too!" Haruhi yelled. Takai followed his advice and headed for the forest.

"I can't keep this Jutsu up forever!" Shikari groaned. "Go! Now!" Haruhi looked in rage, but nonetheless, fled into the forest too.

"Oh, goodie. More sport for me." Konohamaru said. Soon, Shikari's shadow defused with Konohamaru's and went back to his own.

"Shoot!" Shikari said. Konohamaru continued his charge and arrived directly in front of Shikari.

"Genjutsu it is!" Konohamaru yelled. Using his index and middle finger, he placed them on Shikari's forehead, jumped over him and headed for the forest.

"Hey! I'm not done with you!" He yelled to him. But before he could chase after the Jounin, he heard a scream in the forest. It sounded exactly like Haruhi. "Haruhi!" Without a second's thought, he dashed for the forest in an attempt to save her. Desparately, he tried to look for a lead for Haruhi. Then, he found her, lying on the ground, appearing to have many cuts and bruises on her delicate body. She gave a feint cough.

"Shikari...help..." She said weakly. Without thinking, he ran towards her. But before he could touch her, Haruhi vanished.

"What?! Genjutsu?!" Shikari yelled. And then, he started to feel dizzy. His body grew numb, his blood was growing hot, and his head was willing to bear this enormous pain, he collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious. And on top of the trees was Konohamaru.

"One down. Two to go."

The real Haruhi ran through the woods in search of Takai. Tree after tree passed and she still couldn't find anything. Until, she reached another long plain at the other side of the forest.. She looked around violently for Takai or even some indication to Shikari's safety. Then, she spotted someone, someone she dreaded: Konohamaru.

"Nice weather, huh?" He started.

"Where's Shikari?" She said worriedly.

"Captured." Desperately, she tried to run past Konohamaru, but he grabbed her by the collar and threw her back, so she landed on her backside. "You'll have to go through me."

"Fine then!" She screamed. She ran towards Konohamaru, and tried to punch him, but the Sensei grabbed her wrist. She tried to pull free, but his grip was too strong. So to break loose, she jumped up and tried to kick Konohamaru. But now, with his other hand, grabbed Haruhi's ankle.

"Try get out of that." Konohamaru smirked. Haruhi thought desperately and remembered she had one spare leg left. Using her free leg, she leaned it on Konohamaru's chest and using all her strength, pushed back. The force released Konoahamru's grip on her ankle and wrist, and she was free once more.

"That was too close." Panted Haruhi. Konohamaru readied himself again. Haruhi reacting fast, formed her traditional hand seal and focussed all her Chakra. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Haruhi called upon the forces of hundreds of Clones that covered all the field.

"Well, I suppose you are your father's daughter." Konohamaru said in surprise. All the Clones charged for the calm Jounin. But he jumped up, as to avoid their attacks, did a somersault and kicked one random Clone. But as it turned out, that Clone was the real one. All the Clones vanished and Haruhi crouched in pain.

"How...How did you know it was me?" She coughed in frustration. Konohamaru crouched down to her.

"Because..." He started. But showed her, rather than told her. Using the same hand seal, he called upon two Konohamarus.

"Y-You know Shadow Clone Jutsu?!" Haruhi said in surprise.

"Yup. Although you may not know it, I can tell a mile off which is a Clone and which is the real one." He replied. The two Clones vanished, and Konohamaru took, from his Ninja tool bag, a long strand of metal wire, and coiled it around Haruhi, tying her arms to her torso, and her wrists together behind her back. Turning around, Konohamaru walked away from her. "Be a good girl now!" He called back.

"Hey wait!" She yelled in frustration. She tried to loosen her bonds, but were too tight on her. "You can't just leave me here!!" Immediately, Konohamaru returned to her.

"You're right. I can't." He said. But Haruhi found herself in a worse position. Using another strand of metal wire, Konohamaru tied Haruhi to the branch of a tall tree, with her previous bonds still on. Konohamaru went his own way again.

"Hey!!" She yelled again. She tried flailing her legs around, so as to break free.

"Oh, and I wouldn't wriggle if I were you!" Konohamaru yelled back. Haruhi seen at the root of the branch that bound her, that it was starting to snap. She looked all the way down, and seen that it was a long drop. She gave a moan.

"Help?" She yelled.

It was dark where Shikari stood. He didn't know where he was. All he knew, that it was dark.

"Haruhi?!" He yelled. "Takai?! You there?!" He gave a growl. "What a drag!" But before he could despair and give up hope, a light came from a distance, and enveloped him. He felt himself lunge forward, as he sat on the forest floor once more. "Wh-What happened?" He looked around and seen Takai walk away, leaving the confused Shikari behind. Takai walked a few minutes more, into a deeper part of the forest. He could hear the feint scream of Haruhi, which didn't alarm him. Eventually, he found the source of the screaming, tied up on a tall tree by metal wires, and as helpless as a child.

"_How on Earth did this girl succeed me_?" Thought Takai. After more struggles she caught sight of Takai from down below and smiled in hope.

"Takai! Thank goodness you've found me! Can you help me down?" She called down to Takai. Using his Chakra, he jumped up to the tree branch facing Haruhi on the tree opposite.

"Why? If you're the best in the exam, escaping from metal wires should be easy." Takai said. Haruhi grew mad.

"I can't escape this, you idiot!!" Haruhi screamed in annoyance. "If I had one arm free I could free myself! Now hurry up and untie me so I can kick Sensei's a..." But before she could finish her sentence, Takai jumped and snapped Haruhi's wire binding her to the branch, and carried her behind a tree in high speed, where she could see a mass amount of Kunai and Shuriken either whizz past or bang against the tree.

"You were being used as bait by Sensei to lure me out!" Said Takai menacingly. Haruhi gasped.

"But how?!" She said. "I saw him walk away!" But now remembering her events with Konohamaru, that she realized that the one walking away was a Shadow Clone. "Oh."

"Alright. I'll lure out Sensei while you find Shikari and hide 'till noon." Takai explained.

"And you're going to fight Sensei alone?!" She yelled.

"I have the better chance than you do." Takai said. Using a Kunai, he cut the bounds on Haruhi's torso and wrists.

"I'm not running away! You can forget that!" Haruhi snapped. But little did she know, her wish was granted.

"Suit yourself." Said a familiar voice from above them. They looked up to see Konohamaru, using his Chakra to stand on the tree's vertical axis. He threw a horde of Kunai at Haruhi and Takai, but the latter reacted first, by deflecting it with his Kunai.

"Hurry up and get out of here!" Yelled Takai. Haruhi tried fleeing, but Konohamaru jumped in front of her.

"You're not getting away that easily!" He said confidently. Using more metal wires, he attempted to bind Haruhi once more, but a Kunai whizzed past and cut the metal wire being controlled by Konohamaru, making the wire coiling around Haruhi unspread and fall to the ground. Then Takai interfered and attempted to punch Konohamaru, but was blocked. While the two fell due to gravity, Haruhi made her escape.

"Thank you, Takai."

Takai and Konohamaru landed on a branch and jumped apart from each other.

"Oh darn. Looks like I'll have to catch Haruhi again." Konohamaru said sarcastically. "Oh well, first I'll go after Takai."

"Not gonna happen!" Takai yelled taking action by charging for Konohamaru.

"_This kid's no pushover. Better up a gear or he's gonna kill me_." Thought Konohamaru. Takai jumped up and tried to kick him using his heel, but was blocked again. During his kick, Konohamaru grabbed Takai's ankle and threw him on the ground, causing the branch to crack. then he tried to punch Takai who was now on the ground, but he jumped away just in time.

"For your sake, I hope that's not the best you got!" Konohamaru taunted. Takai growled. He started forming hand seals.

"Taste this! Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu!" He called, then placing his hand on his mouth, he exhaled a ball of fire that launched itself for Konohamaru. Being behind the flames, Takai couldn't see if he hit his Sensei or not, but he subsided the flames, as to not run out of Chakra. The area around him, trees, branches and twigs were burned.

"So you wanna play Ninjutsu?" Called Konohamaru from behind. Takai looked around with surprise.

"_He avoided it_?!" Thought Takai.

"I'm game." Said Konohamaru. He then began forming his own hand seals, much to Takai's horror. "Fire Style - Fire Dragon Bullet!" Then, he took a deep breathe, and blasted a larger fireball at an incredible speed towards Takai, incinerating all in it's path. Desperately, Takai jumped down to the undergrowth below, as to avoid being vaporised by the blast. Takai was now sweating bullets on how close his skin was from being burned to oblivion. "Do you see the difference in our strengths now, Takai?" Asked Konohamaru, doing a somersault back to the ground.

"What do you mean? I avoided that attack easily!" Said Takai with his mood still set on menacing.

"Wrong." Said Konohamaru now more serious. "I deliberately missed!" Takai was horrified by this statement, now knowing, that victory against a Jounin of this calibre, was impossible.


	4. From Test to Survival

**From Test to Survival!**

Not far from where the Genin were taking their tests, that the future Hokage, his wife, and current Hokage were relaxing after many hours of training. They were all in the Hokage's lounging area. Sakura took the honours of pouring Naruto and Tsunade some tea, along with herself.

"I must admit Naruto, you're becoming better as a Hokage." Tsunade said. "Although it's piece by piece, I believe you'll make a splendid Hokage in due course." Naruto smiled uncontrollably. Then, the three took a large sip from their tea and sighed in relief at the exhaustion released. "So, what's the situation with Haruhi?"

"Excellent. She's got her new squad captain." Naruto said joyfully.

"And who is it?" Tsunade asked then took a sip of tea.

"Konohamaru." Tsunade nearly choked on her tea when hearing this.

"Konohamaru Sarutobi?! You _can't_ be serious!"

"It was decided yesterday, Tsunade-sama. Konohamaru-kun has leadership over Team 8." Sakura said.

"Is it a problem, Grandma?" Asked Naruto.

"Of course it's a problem! Last I seen that brat, he was creating more perverted Jutsu! How can you let him have a team, let alone have Haruhi's?!" Tsunade exclaimed.

"You've rarely seen Konohamaru, except when going on missions. I've trained Konohamaru to become a lot stronger since last you met." Naruto said without worry.

"The last time I seen him was on his Jounin exam. The only reason he passed his exam, was because he used his last resort Jutsu!" Tsunade said seriously. Naruto gave a laugh.

"Who could forget that? His opponent had a nosebleed for a week!" Naruto laughed uncontrollably. Sakura couldn't help but throw in a giggle, while Tsunade remained ever more grim.

"This isn't a laughing matter, Naruto!" Tsunade said in fury. "Konohamaru is nowhere near ready to become a leading Jounin!"

"Will you relax?" Said Naruto cooly. Tsunade gaped at his relaxation. "I told you didn't I? I've taught Konohamaru more techniques than showing off his Sexy Jutsu. Oh, and just so you know, there was only two people ever to defeat Konohamaru in a serious battle in his Jounin career. One of them was me. And if I hadn't defeated him when I did, I would've gone into Sage Mode." Tsunade gasped. "If there's anyone who can look after Haruhi, it's him."

Haruhi dashed through the forest undergrowth in search of Shikari. There was not a trace of him, until she, for some reason, had all her motion drained away. She was as still as a statue for some reason. She looked over to see Shikari.

"You really are a helpless girl." Shikari said. While in his Shadow Possession Jutsu, he picked up a twig and threw it in front of Haruhi to reveal a pitfall trap with a net at the bottom. Haruhi was stunned at the sight she was about to walk into.

"Sensei did that?!" Haruhi said in awe.

"You guessed it. He's laid out traps all over this forest." Shikari said. Then he pulled out a Kunai and threw it to a branch on the trees to reveal an array of more Kunai and Shuriken, and sliced the thrown Kunai to pieces before it could hit the branch. "Sensei isn't just playing around with us to see our abilities. He really is trying to render us useless."

"_We can't beat him_." Haruhi thought.

Unknown to the both of them, the same thought echoed through Takai's mind, as he was staring at Konohamaru with eyes filled with fear.

"_I can't beat him_." Thought Takai.

"Do you know now the difference in our powers, Takai?" Konohamaru asked. "From the moment you picked this fight until now, I could have killed you five times. The one that was rediculously easiest was my Fire Bullet." Takai trembled further. "It's not too late. Accept capture, and your allys might come and rescue you." Takai's reaction wasn't a good one.

"I never surrender to opponents!!" Takai screamed at the top of his voice, as he charged for Konohamaru, who gave a sigh. Takai tried to stab Konohamaru with a Kunai, but before the metal spike could reach him, Konohamaru side-stepped a few feet, and extended his ankle, causing Takai to trip quite painfully.

"When will you learn?" Asked Konohamaru now very seriously. "With that single charge, there was 7 different ways to counter your move and kill you." Takai tried to get up, but his body was overcome with the audacity of the last attack.

During the battle, Shikari and Haruhi were running through the forest.

"What're we gonna do now?!" Asked Haruhi worriedly after using a Kunai to deflect more Shuriken traps.

"I dunno. My gut instinct tells me to find Takai and think up a battle strategy. But who knows where he's at?" Shikari said.

"He said to go on ahead and find you. He was left with Sensei." Haruhi explained.

"That idiot! He's always trying to make me look bad!" Shikari growled.

"Look bad? When?" Haruhi asked.

"You wouldn't know. Half your class time was spent being punished." Shikari said. Haruhi fumed. A few seconds later, they seen someone in the distance. It was Konohamaru. Shikari pushed Haruhi into a bush and hid there too.

"We don't wanna run into him." Haruhi nodded and seen that Takai was there also, on looking at him, he looked to be weakened extensively.

"We can't leave him out there! He's getting killed!" Haruhi screamed silently in panic.

"Calm down!" Whispered Shikari. "Going out there too is suicide! We have to wait until Konohamaru captures him, then we can free him there!" Haruhi remained where she was, ever hoping Takai would be safe.

"Would you like to try again? Or are you still glutton for punishment?" Konohamaru asked. Takai finally managed to support his body by leaning on his palms.

"What makes you think...I'll surrender?!" Takai yelled before plunging a Kunai into Konohamaru. At first, it gave him and the two spectators some light of hope, but a few seconds later, it was diminished, as his Sensei vanished in a puff of smoke. The real Konohamaru appeared directly behind Takai.

"Suit youself!" He yelled as he kicked Takai head-first into a tree, making his two allies flinch at the impact. Takai felt his body tremble from pain. Shikari felt his body tremble from amazement. And Haruhi felt her body tremble from fear. Without thinking, she formed her hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" with a puff of smoke, there came a second Haruhi.

"Haruhi!! What're you doing?!" Yelled Shikari.

"Saving Takai!" She said in spite towards her Sensei. She opened her palm, and her Clone started swirling a Chakra ball.

"_I know you said I shouldn't do it, dad_..." Thought Haruhi. "_But I need to save Takai_!" She left the sanctuary of the bush and charged with her now completed Rasengan ball. Konohamaru made his way towards Takai, oblivious to Haruhi's presence, until she got inches from him.

"Rasengan!!" She called. She aimed the ball for his back, but surprisingly, Konohamaru spun around and the Rasengan hit his palm. On closer inspection, Haruhi seen that a Chakra ball was circulating around his palm too. Before she could question it, Haruhi's Rasengan dispersed, leaving Haruhi thrown back by the force of the negation. To finish the job, Konohamaru kicked Haruhi in the stomach, with such force that she rolled on the ground to lose the momentum.

"Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi." Said Konohamaru cooly while walking over to her. "What did you think you'd get out of ignoring your father like that?" Haruhi gasped.

"How do you..." Haruhi said in weakness.

"You should know by now, Haruhi. I don't just know Naruto through reputation. I knew him personally before he became the ninja he was today." Konohamaru explained. "Yesterday, he warned me to watch over you. Especially with Rasengan. And just as a recap." He extended his arm and presented his palm. A large amount of Chakra swirled in his hand and formed a ball. "You, your dad and mom aren't the only ones who know Rasengan." Haruhi was stunned, not just by the pain, but from the sight of his Sensei performing Rasengan. His Chakra ball dispersed by his whim. "Now where was I? Oh right. Kidnapping Haruhi again." Saying the last bit in sarcasm. But before he could unravel his next capturing Jutsu, Takai interferred. By firing a Fireball Jutsu towards Konohamaru's back. Unfortunately it was another Shadow Clone, and the fireball was inches away from burning Haruhi. The real Konohamaru appeared again behind Takai.

"What?!" He yelled in surprise. And once again, he kicked Takai to Haruhi. The both of them lay on the undergrowth, beaten and defeated.

"What're you doing here, Haruhi?" Asked Takai in spite. Haruhi, confused, turned to Takai's face. "I told you to find Shikari and hide!" Haruhi gasped.

"We came here to save you! From getting your skin roasted by Sensei!" Haruhi screamed.

"I didn't need your help! I had everything under control!" Takai yelled furiously. Shikari seen that Konohamaru was making his way for the two. So, in a last ditch effort, he tried using his Shadow Possession Jutsu to freeze his Sensei. But before his shadow could make contact with Konohamaru, he vanished in a high-speed Chakra jump.

"It missed?!" Thought Shikari. He tried looking for his Sensei everywhere. then he heard a "Pssst!" from behind.

"If you want to find an opponent. Behind is your first place to look." Konohamaru whispered. Shikari screamed in fright, before being kicked to Haruhi and Takai.

"You too?!" Yelled Takai in rage. "What do you learn in the Academy!" Yelled Takai.

"Shut up! You should've accepted capture and let us do our jobs!" Shikari yelled back.

"Do you think I'll be as foolish as to surrender?!" Takai yelled. Konohamaru approached.

"Oh, goodie. The gang's all here. Now I can trap all three of you at the same time." He said in sarcasm. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He called on two clones. Then the real performed a series of hand seals. "Earth Style - Great Mud River!" From the undergrowth around them, came wet soil, which came in around the Genin's feet..

"What is this?!" Exclaimed Haruhi in worry. The three Konohamaru's jumped and using their Chakra, stood on the surface of the mud. Then, the real Konohamaru extended his hands as a mud slide charged for the Genin. Haruhi screamed as the mud encased her.

"Haruhi!" Yelled Shikari. He tried to bring her up to the surface before she drowned, but he lost his balance and got encased too. Takai however jumped up and avoided the mud completely. However, one Clone intercepted his aerial dodge, and punched him back to the ground, covering him too. The mud however began to lessen and the three Genin emerged, all dirty with the mud, but the mud slide was still covering the bottom half of their bodies. Hoping that the barrage of attacks was over, Haruhi gave cough after cough, trying to get the dirt our of her mouth and eyes. However Konohamaru didn't stop the assault. The third Clone performed more hand seals.

"Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu!" He called. From his mouth came a ball of fire. Haruhi closed her eyes to minimize the pain. But as it turned out, there was no pain. She glanced, to see the fireball hovering above them. Feeling the heat, Haruhi began to sweat. But, she could feel the liquid feel of the mud, starting to turn into hardened dirt. Not liking the situation, she tried to flee, but she couldn't move her hands or feet, for they were under the mud, that was being hardened. The flame ball stopped and the two Clones vanished. The three tried to move, but all they could do is move their heads and chests. The three were encased in a coffin of solid dirt.

"What happened?!" Yelled Shikari, trying to break free.

"I used my Mud River to trap you, and my Fireball to harden the mud, creating an almost concrete-hard prison." Konohamaru explained. Before the others could react, they heard a bell, similar to an alarm clock bell. Konohamaru took a pocket watch from his flak jacket and glanced at it. "And just in time too. It just sounded noon. A minute more, and you would've been the victors of this competition." The three moaned in unison. "So tell me, what did this test teach you?"

"You can't defeat a Jounin-level ninja when at Genin-level." Contributed Takai.

"Always take into consideration of your ally's sacrifices." Shikari said in a dull way.

"Never break away from a team's plans." Haruhi offered.

"All wrong!" Konohamaru said in fury that made the Genin flinch. "Surely Genin of your calibre should realise what it means to go up against a ninja who is superior to you and willing to kidnap you!"

"That it's..." Shikari said slowly.

"Impossible." Konohamaru finished. "Enemy ninjas never see eye-to-eye when it comes to Genin. To them, it's another ninja. And when in need to secure a prisoner, a Genin's a perfect target!"

"Why would they do that?!" Haruhi asked seriously.

"To use you against your villages!" He replied. Haruhi felt a chill run down her spine. "If a ninja wants something from our village, they will kidnap one of ours, and force us to bargain for his or her life, even if they were to set traps all over forests if they must." This spawned an immediate response from Shikari and Haruhi. "This test was no different. If I were an enemy ninja, I now have three little Genin to bargain with - which is a goldmine for them." Haruhi was shocked by the explanation of the test, not seeing it as that kind of test. "The test was to see if you can last at least two hours on your own without being kidnapped. But obviously, you failed miserably." The three looked down in shame.

"It's my fault the test was a failure." Said Haruhi sadly.

"Not in my eyes." Konohamaru said. "Your will to prove yourself, Shikari's poor teamwork skills and Takai's eagerness to fight, all contributed to it's failure." On looking at their sad faces, especially Haruhi's, Konohamaru changed tactics. "There is another lesson in this test though. If you can't answer it, all I can say is good luck." Haruhi gulped and thought on her feet. She knew Takai and Shikari weren't just hogging glory by fighting Konohamaru alone. There was more to it.

"_Think, Haruhi. Think_." She thought. Then it came to her. A memory came flashing back to her when she came to the Academy only at eight. Her and her father were having some ice cream at a park bench.

"_So how was the Academy today, sweety_?" Naruto asked.

"_Tiring_." She said while licking away at her ice cream. "I don't even know how Sensei wants me to answer "_What happens if your comrade is in danger_." Naruto gave a short laugh.

"_Well that should be easy, Haruhi. You save them, of course_." Naruto said with a smile. Haruhi looked up at her dad.

"_But...wouldn't that cost the team a mission_?" Asked Haruhi.

"_When being a ninja, you have to remember: your allies comes first, even at the cost of a mission. After all, this lesson I was taught by my Sensei. Those who break the ninja code are scum. True it might be. But those who don't take care of their friends, are worse than scum_." Haruhi looked on in awe over her father's words.

"_You'll make a brilliant Hokage, daddy_." Haruhi said in pride. Naruto scratched his head.

"_You really think so_?" He asked in embarassment. Then Haruhi's reminiscence ended, by being back in her half mud coffin, and facing off against Konohamaru.

"It was allies." Haruhi started. Konohamaru raised an eyebrow as Takai and Shikari looked to Haruhi. "Shikari, Takai, they did the things they did only to save me. They knew they couldn't stand a chance, but they did it anyway. Protecting your friends, at the cost of your life and mission, are ninjas that you should be proud of." Konohamaru held back a smile.

"_Haruhi_..." Thought Shikari. Konohamaru approached the Genin in their mud prison.

"Then all I gotta say is this..." He said. He extended his arm and placed his palm on the top of Haruhi's head. "I'll give you a passing grade." Haruhi gasped and smiled uncontrollably. Takai grunted at Haruhi, while Shikari laughed. Konohamaru gave a light-hearted smile. "Never forget that lesson. To those around your father, that lesson is sacred." He pointed his finger towards the mud, and poked it. The mud suddenly broke apart, and freed the young Genin. "Now, what say we get started in becoming a team? Eh? As of now, I promise to teach you nitwits how to become real ninja." Both Haruhi and Shikari looked down in embarassment while Takai grunted. Konohamaru held up his the top part of his arm. "Team?"

"Team!" Haruhi yelled as she immediately placed hers on top of his, raising a smile from Konohamaru. Shikari gave a small snort with a smile and placed his hand on top of Haruhi's.

"Team." Shikari said looked down on their joined hands and gave a small "hmph" before placing his hand on Shikari's.

"Team...I suppose."

"Let's go, Team 8!"


	5. Konohamaru's Past

**Konohamaru's Past**

It wasn't until the night after Haruhi's rough test that she began reciting it again in her sleep. She stood above the deceased bodies of her fellow teammates: Shikari and Takai, rain patting at their hollow shells. Tears poured down her eyes, that mixed with the blood on her hands. Before she could run, either with or without her comrades, an evil figure stood before the frightened girl.

"You will always be weak!" The figure said malevolently, as he plunged a Kunai into Haruhi's chest. She gave a weakened cough, before looking at the face of her Sensei, as she sank into darkness.

Haruhi jerked up and screamed in fright, to see she was still in her room.

"Are you okay, nee-san?" Asked her brother who was sitting beside her. She felt her chest to feel nothing. She laid her head back onto her pillow.

"J-just a dream." She whispered. As she lay there, with Tsukune setting off for bed again, Haruhi couldn't help but think over her dream. The chill of the air, the smell of the blood, the sight of her fallen comrades, the noise of the rain and the words of her Sensei.

"That's it!" Thought Haruhi to herself. "I need to find out who Konohamaru really is!"

Haruhi strolled through the Hidden Leaf Village aimlessly. As a treat for narrowly passing his test, Konohamaru gave them the day off to re cooperate. She was trying to find some leads that would give her information on her Sensei's identity. All of a sudden, she stumbled on a familiar sight strolling by too. Giving a gasp, she called on the name of her first teammate: Shikari Nara.

"Shikari-kun!" She called. He turned to her and gave a grin.

"Hey, what's up?" He said dully, yet with a smile.

"Ummm, I was hoping if you'd lend a hand." She said politely.

"I'm not all for helping hands. Too much of a drag." Shikari said as Haruhi fumed. She only knew him for three days and she already gathered the fact he was lazy. "But since you're a friend, I suppose I can help out." Haruhi sighed in relief. Taking him to her favourite spot: the Ichiraku Ramen stand, Haruhi explained her case to Shikari while eating some ramen. "Yeesh. You sure it wasn't just something you ate?"

"I'm positive!" Exclaimed Haruhi. "I don't know how, but I don't trust him. Unless I know for certain we can trust him, I think my dream will come to reality." Shikari grunted.

"It was just yesterday playing with your head, is all." Shikari said. "But if it makes you feel better, I 'll give you a hand." Haruhi coughed at the sound of this, as she was half-way in swallowing her ramen.

"Th-Thank you, Shikari-kun." She coughed. After she paid for her ramen, the two strolled down one of the many lanes of the Village. "So do you have any leads?"

"As it turns out, I do." Shikari said. Eventually, they came to a stylish house on top of a small hill. The two made themselves at home in it's living room sitting at a small table in the middle of the room. The room was decorated with many decorative artifacts, such as a luxurious fireplace, many frames with different forms of artwork, and many other neat decorations.

"Where are we?" Asked Haruhi.

"My house." Shikari said. Haruhi gasped.

"It's the first time I've been in your house before." She said wondrously, admiring the scenery. But before she could get comfortable, one of the doors swung open to reveal a tall ninja, wearing a Jounin's garb, which was sown with a long fuzzy material at the top, with a brown t-shirt underneath. His face was bold and strong-looking, while his hair was long and came to his shoulders.

"Hey, dad." Shikari prepped. Haruhi gaped at this sudden outburst. Shikari's dad gave a look to Haruhi.

"See yah got company." He said with an equally gruff voice as his son. "Who do I owe the pleasure?"

"Haruhi Uzumaki, Shikari-kun's teammate." She said politely. With that, Shikari's dad gave a smile and offered Haruhi his hand.

"Shikamaru Nara. Glad we can meet." He said as Haruhi shook his hand. He took a seat opposite the two, took a scroll, laid it on the table, and summoned what appeared to be a Shogi board. "So, kid, what can the I do for you." He said this while moving a piece, Shikari responded with a move of his own.

"Can you tell me anything about Konohamaru Sarutobi?" She asked timidly. Without making a noise, he looked up.

"He's one hell of a strong ninja, that's for sure." He said while continuing his game with his son.

"You know him then?" Asked Haruhi.

"'Course I know him, he is only one of the strongest ninja in this village. He wasn't much of a ninja when he was a kid, just a pest to be honest, kept saying how he'd be the Seventh Hokage. Then about five years after Naruto beat Akatsuki, he became a hundred times stronger." Haruhi listened in awe, ignoring the pit-pat of the Shogi pieces. "It was said that he aced the Jounin exams without flaw. All the opponents he faced were overwhelmed in seconds." Shikamaru reminisced on how a younger Konohamaru used a powerful Rasengan on an opponent he faced.

"D-Do you think he's evil in a way?" Haruhi asked.

"What? Course not. I might not know all the stuff in this world, but Konohamaru being evil ain't one of 'em. Him betraying the Village is just as likely as me getting beat at Shogi." Shikamaru said with a grunt. "Checkmate." And with that, he placed a piece on the board, making Shikari grunt in annoyance.

"You'd think you'd go easy on me once in a while!" He said furiously.

"Heh! I'm not one to get beaten easily, boy." Shikamaru replied. "That's all I know about the kid, kid. If he's your squad leader, you got nothing to worry 'bout." With manners, Haruhi stood up.

"Thank you very much, Shikamaru-san." She said with a bow.

"Hm, looks like you're on your own, Haruhi." Shikari said. "Whenever I'm this fired up, I wanna go again at Shogi." Haruhi gave a despairing cry.

"But you did so good in knowing who has the right info." Haruhi said sadly.

"You don't need me to do that. Besides, my dad was the only one I could come up with." Shikari said while rearranging the Shogi pieces. "Oh, and good luck." Haruhi gave a last minute smile.

"Thanks, Shikari-kun. I'll be sure to find something." She said while leaving the Nara house.

"Nice girl." Shikamaru said while starting the new game of Shogi. "Feel honoured that the daughter of Naruto's on your side."

"In a way, I kinda do."

Haruhi's aimless wandering continued before meeting Shikari, thinking about what Shikamaru was saying about Konohamaru.

"Sensei beat the Jounin exams without breaking a sweat?" Thought Haruhi. "I heard from daddy that they're meant to be hard. If he's that strong when he was a boy, I wonder what he's like now?" But before she could finish her thinking, a thought had crossed her head about who might be the next person to see about her desired information. Quickly, she ran to the Hokage's tower, where she met her mother outside.

"Ah, Haruhi." Called Sakura. "Why are you here?"

"Do you know where daddy is?" Asked Haruhi. Sakura pointed to the tower.

"He's busy doing Hokage training, you'll have to come back later." She said apologetically.

"That's okay, I'll just ask you about what I was gonna ask dad." Haruhi said with a smile.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"It's Konohamaru-Sensei. I was wondering, you wouldn't know anything strange about him...would you?"

"Konohamaru-kun? What do I not know about him? Him and your father are like brothers." Sakura said in a low annoyed voice.

"Really? Then do you know if he might be plotting something...by any chance?"

"Plotting...?" Before she could say anything, she gave a small giggle and stroked Haruhi's head. "I think Konohamaru-kun's test yesterday got to you. All the time, your father kept making conspiracy theories about our Sensei. I think it's common that you've inherited some of that." Haruhi gave her a serious look.

"Mom! I'm being serious!" Haruhi whined. Sakura continued to remain relaxed.

"Well, if he really was plotting something, your father would be first to know." She said. At that point, the door to the tower opened to reveal Naruto, who looked to be exhausted beyond belief.

"Hey, Sakura. Where were you? Grandma's been piling the pressure." He said tiringly.

"Just catching some air, dear." Sakura said. At that, Naruto caught sight of Haruhi.

"Hey, sweetie, what're you doing here? Thought you had a day off." He said whilst patting Haruhi's shoulder.

"I did, and I need to ask a few things about Konohamaru-sensei." Haruhi said feverishly.

"Well, you're lucky Tsunade's given me a break to catch my breathe. C'mon inside." Him, Sakura and Haruhi entered the Hokage's tower, and the latter made herself comfortable in the lounging area. There, she explained her dream.

"That sounds completely out of character for Konohamaru-kun." Sakura prepped up.

"So, you want to know if Konohamaru can be trusted or not, huh?" Naruto suggested.

"Yeah. I can't sit by and watch my friends get killed." Haruhi said with resolve.

"Rightfully so." Naruto replied. "Well, you can trust him for certain, because I've known him way before you were born. All the time, he'd compete against me to become Hokage. And even learned my Signature Jutsu at the time to do it."

"Rasengan?" Haruhi asked.

"Not exactly. Guess I haven't told you 'bout that Jutsu yet." Naruto said while scratching his head, and looked over to Sakura who gave a sigh.

"It can't be helped. Fine, but no more than ten seconds." Sakura warned. Naruto gave a smile and stood from his chair.

"It goes like this." Haruhi's father formed a hand seal and a puff of smoke appeared around him.

"But that's a Transformation Jutsu, anyone who can-" Haruhi remarked, but when the smoke cleared, Haruhi was stunned by her father's new appearance: a fully naked woman version of himself, with two long pigtails and in a very lustrous position.

"Do you like my Sexy Jutsu, Haruhi-chan?" Giggled Naruto in a cute girly voice, that made Haruhi blush in embarrassment. Before she could react, the Jutsu dispersed, returning Naruto in his Hokage-style outfit. Sakura who was beside her loosened her tension.

"What kind of Jutsu was that?!" Screamed Haruhi.

"A Jutsu that makes perverts roll over like a dog." Laughed Naruto. "But, nobody uses it in battle, just for keepsakes. Konohamaru used that Jutsu a lot, but after his Jounin exams, he sought to be better."

"Better?! But I heard from Shikari-kun's father that he passed the exam without flaw!" Haruhi exclaimed.

"He did, but at his current state, it was all down to luck." Naruto replied. "He wanted to become stronger not so he could beat everyone around, but to protect all those he held dear. So, after the tournament, he trained with the Sarutobi clan and myself to become stronger than ever." Just like with Shikamaru, Haruhi was mind-warped with her father's tale. "Then..."

"Then?"

"Three years later, I wanted to see how Konohamaru improved. We went into battle that lasted hours at a time. Using Jutsu that surpassed any I've seen before. Not one of us let up let up, even after our bodies were bruised, battered and broken." Naruto recited the events happening that day. Both a younger version of Konohamaru and Naruto were in the vast meadow that was often used for training. The entire battlefield was under a protective shielding dome, casted by Sakura and Ino at the sidelines, accompanied by two Shadow Clones of Naruto, who were as still as a statue. Both Naruto and Konohamaru were puffing frantically, bruises and scratches all over their bodies, and blood drenching their clothes. "Until the battle was decided, when Konohamaru finally gave out." The younger Konohamaru dropped to his knees and lost consciousness. The Shadow Clones dispersed and Naruto gave way too. Sakura rushed to their aid. "It took two weeks for us to leave the hospital, surely you must remember that part?"

"Really?" Asked Haruhi. She briefly scanned her memory, and gasped at one particular one. A very young Haruhi was crying at Naruto's hospital bedside. Naruto's body was covered in bandages from the experience in fighting Konohamaru, and looked on at her crying daughter. Haruhi's tiny body only reached the edge of the bed, but she was still crying on the covers. Naruto grouped her into a hug.

"It's okay, honey. I'm not gonna die." Naruto soothed her.

"But daddy...I don't want you to die..." Haruhi sobbed.

"I'll be okay. Daddy's just tired. I'll be out of here soon. Okay?" Naruto said while stroking her hair.

"Yes." She said, trying to act brave. Soon after, Haruhi walked away with her mother, who was showing the signs that she was pregnant with Haruhi's brother: Tsukune, at the time. Looking back, Haruhi seen Naruto give a thumbs-up, giving Haruhi a gentle smile. Just after Haruhi left, the bed next to Naruto shifted, revealing Konohamaru.

"I'm sorry, senpai. She looks very worried about you." He said weakly.

"It's okay, Konohamaru. I've already got one child crying over me. You were just proving how good you were." Naruto said happily.

"And, senpai?"

"Without a doubt, you have become strong." Naruto said, instantly raising a smile from Konohamaru. Back in the present day, Haruhi was again morphed by this story.

"So you see, sweetie, your Sensei's the last person to suspect." Naruto finished. Haruhi snapped back into reality.

"You're that close with Sensei?" Asked Haruhi.

"The only people closer to me than him, is my family." Haruhi smiled honourably.

"Thank you, daddy." She said standing up, pecking her father and mother on the cheek and running off.

"My, my. She grows up so fast." Sakura said happily.

"Yeah." Naruto replied. But before they could share each other's loneliness, Tsunade entered the room.

"Naruto! Break's up! Back to work!" Tsunade yelled, as Naruto gave a frightened look, while Sakura giggled slightly.

Haruhi sat at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, thinking of the story her father told her. If the two were like brothers, then he has close ties with her family, so it was questionable if Konohamaru would be capable of such actions in her dreams. Before she could dwell on her thoughts some more, a stranger sat at a seat next to her, and with a familiar voice, called:

"One bowl of ramen, please." Haruhi shifted her head to the stranger to see the familiar face of her Sensei.

"K-Konohamaru-Sensei!" Haruhi called. He turned to see her and grew a smile.

"Hey, Haruhi!" He said happily. "Didn't know you liked ramen too."

"Kind of." Haruhi started. "I don't eat as fast as my dad though."

"Heh! That's for sure." Then, Ayami passed the bowl over to Konohamaru as he dug into it.

"Sensei?"

"Mmm?" Her Sensei asked through a load of ramen.

"How well do you know my dad?" Asked Haruhi.

"I've known him since before I went to the Academy. Before the time I could form a hand seal. Why'd you ask?"

"Well, it's quite embarrassing to say this, but..." Before Haruhi could conjure up her thoughts, Konohamaru placed a hand on Haruhi.

"It's cool. I heard your dream from senpai." Konohamaru said. Haruhi gasped.

"Then you know what I've been doing all day?" Asked Haruhi in shame. Konohamaru nodded.

"And all I gotta say is, sorry."

"Huh?" Haruhi remained dumbfounded on this.

"I guess starting off as a strict teacher was kind of a bad start. Especially since you're senpai's daughter. I thought by acting tough around you, it'd toughen you up too. Turns out it's only made you weaker, physically and spiritually. So, I plan on being a lot smoother with you, Shikari and Takai, run at your pace, fight at your level. We'll take it bit by bit until you become ninja stronger than I." Haruhi listened to Konohamaru's speech with a smile growing on her face. "Unless, you want that?"

"Oh...yes!" Cheered Haruhi.

"Hmmm...you're a nice kid, even when you were young."

"Sensei...I would never have dreamed you saying that."

"Heh! I know, first impressions are everything. But I'm not all evil and dark." Haruhi paused for a moment, while Konohamaru continued consuming ramen.

"Sensei? Is it true you can perform the...Sexy Jutsu?" At that, Konohamaru paused in his chewing and looked at Haruhi. As soon as he swallowed, he gave a hearty laugh.

"That's the name of a Jutsu I've never heard in a long time. Next to your father, I was giving perverts nosebleeds, right, left and centre. I've not used it in twelve years, because by then I knew how childish it was, and moved on to more experienced Jutsu."

"So...you can't perform it?" Asked Haruhi, rather crestfallen.

"Whoever said I couldn't?" Konohamaru formed the same hand seal as before.

"W-Wait! Not here!" Haruhi screamed in panic. But it was too late, a smokescreen appeared around Konohamaru, and as soon as it dispersed, the naked woman version of Konohamaru appeared. Fashioned with large breasts, she sat on the seat cross-legged with her arms relaxed at the back of her head. The same feeling was spread through Haruhi's body the same way when she seen her father's version. With passers-by either muttering to themselves, or passing out through nosebleeds.

"Do you like it, Haruhi-chan?" Asked Konohamaru in a similar girly voice, stroking Haruhi's cheek. She was too paralyzed with shock to smack the hand away. But before Ayami could see what all the commotion was, Konohamaru reverted back.

"Phew! Twelve years and still as firm as a watermelon!" Cheered Konohamaru, while Haruhi snapped out of her raging paralysis.

"Why'd you do it out here?! You could have done it where it's more discreet!" Haruhi screamed in rage. Konohamaru peered round to see the by-standers, unconscious with the thought of Konohamaru's naked body still swimming in them.

"Yeah. I'm not one with brains outside combat." Said Konohamaru innocently. "By the way, why did you want to see it? You haven't got a thing for..."

"Of course not, Sensei." Said Haruhi, more calm now. "You and daddy can both use a technique that you used in your childhoods. Somehow, it makes me happy." Haruhi smiled in thought. Konohamaru gave a mutual smile.

"Yeah."

Next day drew in with Haruhi safe from nightmares. Haruhi united with his three comrades: Shikari, Takai and Konohamaru. But along with the three, a photographer stood by them.

"Yo, Haruhi. Did you get what you were after?" Asked Shikari. Haruhi happily nodded.

"Yeah. But what's all this?" Asked Haruhi.

"Ah! Haruhi, perfect timing." Konohamaru said. "Since we'll be teammates until you're ready, before we set off to missions, I've assigned to have our photos taken for keepsakes." Haruhi gave a gasp of joy.

"Great idea!" Squealed Haruhi.

"Hmph. Quite pointless if you ask me." Shikari remarked.

"I agree." Takai muttered.

"Well too bad." Konohamaru said. Him and Haruhi grouped the two together and took their positions. Takai and Shikari occupied left and right, respectively, Haruhi found a position in the middle and Konohamaru stood behind all three.

"Get ready." Called the photographer. They each gave a unique pose, and the camera flashed before them, thus beginning their journey for their life-long goals.


	6. A Rival Appears?

**A Rival Appears**

The now official Team 8, was gathered in a less dense part of the forest for training.

"Alright, Team." Called Konohamaru. "You've done your first batch of D-Rank Missions..."

"You're telling me." Groaned Haruhi. "They were really boring!" Haruhi recited one particular assignment, given by her father himself. Haruhi, Shikari, Takai and Konohamaru had to track down a lost pig, which was the beloved pet of a rich benefactor in the Fire Country. Haruhi and Takai found the pig who dropped it's guard and drank some water by a lake, and both were hidden in a nearby bush.

"Target sighted." Whispered Takai through an earpiece to Konohamaru and Shikari, searching in a different location.

"Hold position." Haruhi heard Konohamaru command through the earpiece. "Monitor it's movements until Shikari comes and uses Shadow Bind on it."

"Roger." Said Takai firmly.

"What are we waiting for?" Asked Haruhi irritatingly. "The pig is right there!"

"Sensei told us to wait until Shikari comes." Takai said unemotionally. "With Shikari's binding Jutsu, it'll be easier than chasing it all over the forest."

"What fun's it with Shikari? I say we strike!" Haruhi said mightily. Then, Haruhi jumped out of the bush and ran for the pig, while it remained oblivious to their whereabouts.

"Haruhi, wait!" Yelled Takai. But it was too late, the pig caught sight of the charging Haruhi. Sensing danger, it ran at an amazing pace to safety, while Haruhi remained in hot pursuit. Takai smacked his eyes in embarrassment. While the pig was being chased by Haruhi, the pig suddenly froze, and Haruhi had to jump and land akwardly to avoid running over it. Looking back at the pig, she seen Shikari had finally came, and used his Shadow Bind on it.

"You really need to learn the definition of "Wait until commanded", Haruhi; you're such a drag." Said Shikari while holding his hand sign. Haruhi groaned at the near-failure of the mission. Haruhi's reminiscence concluded.

"It's boring for you guys, but I quite enjoy the few D-rankers from time to time." Konohamaru said, with a cheesy smile.

"Yeah, but isn't going on As or Bs a bit more exciting?" Asked Haruhi. Konohamaru paused for a moment.

"Hmmmm...nope. Not really." Konohamaru said awkwardly. "But this isn't what this part of the day's regime's all about. Once we achieve three D-Rank Missions each day, we begin training."

"Hmph, pity. I was enjoying the D-Ranks." Shikari moaned.

"Alright, the basics of being a good ninja is knowing how to control your Chakra flow." Konohamaru started. "With good Chakra control, gives you the edge in a fight, since using Jutsus will require less Chakra consumption." At that point, Haruhi listened in.

"This could be my ticket to learning Rasengan." Haruhi thought, thinking over the conditions to her Rasengan ball, either taking a long time to prepared, being weak, and having used so much Chakra, that it left her paralyzed temporarily.

"If you can master this technique I'm about to show you, Chakra control is just one-step to being achieved." Konoahamaru said.

"So? What is it?" Asked Haruhi excitedly. Konohamaru formed a hand seal, and then came a flow of Chakra from his lower body. Suddenly, it stopped, being completely focussed on the soles of his shoes. Konohamaru walked up to a tree, and amazingly to Shikari and Haruhi, he began to walk up it, like if it were a normal path. Carrying on, their Sensei stopped at a branch and hung upside down from it from his feet, like his shoes were super-glued.

"W-How did you...?" Asked Haruhi dumbfounded. She walked up to the tree Konohamaru walked on, and attempted to walk up it too, only to fall back down to Earth with a fud. Takai approached Haruhi.

"It's quite simple, really." Takai said unimpressed with Konohamaru's demonstration. "You just focus your Chakra to the soles of you feet, and walk." He too did the same proceedures, and walked up the same as Konohamaru, only sitting from the branch, not hanging from it.

"Impressive, Takai." Konohamaru complimented. Shikari and Haruhi looked at the tree with difficulty. Shikari formed the hand seal, but when he tried walking up it, he only walked three steps before falling off again.

"Good, Shikari. But remember to maintain the Chakra to your feet." Called Konohamaru. A few hours later passsed, and Haruhi and Shikari only remained a few feet above the ground. It was now sundown and Konohamaru and Takai hopped down.

"That's good. Keep practicing, and we'll try again tomorrow." Konohamaru said happily. The two walked off.

"Well, I'm outta here." Shikari said, walking down his own path.

"Bye!" Called Haruhi, as she too went her own way. She roamed the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, as she normally did to get back home; nice gentle breeze, relaxing view of the departing sun, and ordinary folk preparing for the cosy night ahead. It was until Haruhi entered a less-denser part of the Village when she felt an eerie presence nearby. She blamed it for her lack of Chakra from the day and continued. Until she felt it again. At that point, she withdrew a Kunai, spun around, and apparenly, blocked a Kunai lunge from what appeared to be a girl. Not gathering details at the time, Haruhi kicked the girl back, making her do a somersault away and on her feet again.

"So, my surprise attack failed." The girl said confidently. Now that the situation had slowed down, she had time to get a glimpse of the girl. she had long blonde hair that had a strand coming down over the centre of her eyes, not enough to block her eyesight though. She had brown eyes and her face looked to be a very cute one. She wore a black vest with the symbol of a circle with four spikes on each 90 degree turn. Fashioned with the black vest was a black mini-skirt, with her headband keeping it on her hips. She wasn't familiar to Haruhi in any way.

"Who are you?!" Asked Haruhi in alarm.

"If you want to know so badly, it's Ayane Hotaru, daughter of the Hotaru clan." The girl named Ayane said in a rather cocky tone. Haruhi still looked perplexed. "And this is how the daughter of the famous Naruto Uzumaki knows her history. My, I expected so much from the daughter of the next Hokage." Haruhi tensioned.

"The name's Haruhi to you!" She said in spite. "Now what do you want?" Ayane gave a grin.

"Won't you let me see your fighting style? Surely those closest to the future-Hokage must be strong, even if she's a Genin." Ayane said confidently.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" Yelled Haruhi. She charged with the Kunai in her hand and swiped for Ayane, but she jumped up and avoided it. While she was in mid-air, Haruhi formed a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A second Haruhi came, jumped up to the surprised Ayane, and knocked her down to earth, making the Clone disappear. "Too easy." But it wasn't easy at all, for the Ayane that was hit had substituted into a log. "Huh?!" But before she could react, Ayane appeared behind Haruhi.

"Too slow!" She said, and kicked Haruhi to a nearby wall, weakening her slightly. The lack of Chakra from the training was partly to blame.

"If that's all you have, then I'm disappointed." Haruhi said wiping a blood stain from her cheek. Ayane smiled in excitement.

"Good, looks like I'll be getting more than I expected from you!" Ayane said preparing herself. Haruhi prepared herself too.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Called Haruhi as many Haruhi's came to her aid and charged for Ayane. She did good, in blocking the punches, kicking them and making them disperse, but while she was distracted, a hand grabbed her foot.

"What?!" She cried as a Haruhi Clone came from underneath and tripped her up on her face. Then three Haruhi's came charging for Ayane who was defenceless. One kicked Ayane, so she was standing upright, one kicked her so she became airbourne, and the real Haruhi jumped on the backs of the other two, and kicked Ayane in the chest, sending her flying to a wall, crashing it to pieces. Haruhi landed gracefully.

"That's the power of the Uzumaki!" Haruhi said proudly. But before she could celebrate, Ayane came running from the thick cloud of smoke. Alarmed, Haruhi reacted fast.

"And this is the power of the Hotaru!" Ayane yelled in anger. Instead of a punch, she placed two fingers on Haruhi's blocking arm, being her right. Chakra flowed from the two fingers and it blowed Haruhi back slightly.

"What was that?! You barely lifted me off my feet!" Said Haruhi unimpressively. Ayane gave a victorious grin. Then, Haruhi was stunned to see what the real effects of that Chakra burst did. The arm that blocked, began moving unaccordingly. "What the?" Haruhi became devestated at this particular ability.

"It's the secret Jutsu of the Hotaru Clan. Body Possession Jutsu!" Ayane said with victory. Haruhi tried to move her right arm the way she wanted, but the arm wouldn't respond. "I can force my Chakra into my victim's body, and depending where I hit, I can control the brain waves of that body part. Since I hit your arm, it's mine's for the taking." Haruhi was horrified with the explanation, now with her arm under Ayane's control. "For instance..." She formed a hand seal, and the hand moved on it's own. It dug deep into Haruhi's pocket and withdrew a Kunai. Haruhi gasped.

"Stop it!" Screamed Haruhi. "You've made your point! Stop it!" Ayane continued to smile. The hand holding the Kunai began to lower at a great speed towards Haruhi's stomach, before Haruhi used her left arm to stop it. The strength of the arm was too strong, and Haruhi couldn't stop it with her left arm alone. All her strength was sapped trying to resist the arm's brutal intention to stab herself. Haruhi shut her eyes tightly and sat down on her knees to gather all the strength possible, but still couldn't stop it. Now the worse was coming into play, as her hands were beginning to bleed with the grasping. There was nothing she could do to stop the absolute worse, and so, giving in to despair, let the Kunai-armed hand slide from her blood drenched hand, to see it fire like a torpedo, straight for her stomach.

Until, the hand stopped again, being resisted by another external force. She looked around to see her Sensei, Konohamaru, grasping the rogue hand by the wrist, and using the other hand to disarm it.

"S-Sensei..." Haruhi said in relief. Ayane gave an angry expression, but before she could continue her assault, a second Jounin came into play, and punched Ayane away, letting her roll to let the momentum leave her. Haruhi was surprised to see this, and see who was responsible for this unexpected attack: A black haired woman with deep blank lavender eyes, wearing a black vest over a see-through fish-net t-shirt, with a set of black trousers and wearing the leaf-headband similar to Haruhi herself - on her neck. She seen the enigmatic Jounin approach Ayane.

"You've shamed the Team, Ayane." She said in spite.

"Sensei! I was just..." Ayane said before the woman interrupted, by slapping Ayane on the cheek.

"No excuses!" She screamed, making Haruhi flinch. "Excuses is for weaklings!"

"I apoligize, Sensei." Said Ayane in pain.

"If it happens again, I won't be as forgiving." The woman said a bit calmer. The two set off for leaving.

"W-Wait!" Yelled Haruhi weakly. The two paused and turned around to see Haruhi. "Who are you?" The woman paused.

"My name is Hanabi Hyuga." She said blankly. "Leader of Team 10, and master of the Gentle Fist Taijutsu." Haruhi looked on dumbly. Unknown to Haruhi, Hanabi looked closely at the arm Ayane had possessed. "Ayane!"

"Sensei?" Ayane replied.

"Remove your Chakra from this girl immediately." Hanabi ordered sternly. "And if you use your Body Possession Jutsu on allies for the wrong reasons again, I will personally make sure you regret it." Ayane gulped, and was about to set off to do her orders, before Konohamaru stopped her.

"It's okay, Hanabi. I got this one." Konohamaru interrupted. He let the arm go to see it fall lifelessly. Haruhi then seen the place where Ayane marked, to see the symbol of the Hotaru Clan, which was etched on Ayane's vest, was tattoo'd on the arm. Konohamaru responded to this with a few hand seals. "Sealing Jutsu! Chakra Seal Release!" Placing a palm on the tattoo, Haruhi felt a great amount of pain befall her arm. She gave an uncontrolled scream, when Konohamaru began to lift his hand away from the arm, to see a small blue orb being extracted from Haruhi's arm. The pain left her, and she seen that the tattoo had been erased. The orb vanished into the air, and Konohamaru gave a smile. "Done." Haruhi smiled in relief as she felt her arm do as she commanded.

"Thank you, Sensei!" She said happily. Konohamaru smiled to her.

"You've gotten better, Sarutobi." Hanabi said blankly again. "Not many people can extract Ayane's Chakra on a whim."

"All in a good day's training, Hyuga." Konohamaru replied happily. "Oh, and you might wanna go lighter on your students." Hanabi, instead of returning the happiness turned away with Ayane and walked off.

"Who were they?" Asked Haruhi in awe.

"Team 10. Didn't you hear her when the teams were selected?" Konohamaru said.

"No, I was too busy listening for my team." Haruhi said innocently.

"Well, what a team they picked for Hanabi." Konohamaru said.

"Why? Do you know her?" Asked Haruhi.

"Well, you do know that only two people have ever beaten me as a Jounin. Right?"

"Yeah, one being my dad."

"Well...Hanabi was the second." Haruhi widened her eyes in shock. Briefly, Haruhi imagined the scene, as Hanabi kicked Konohamaru making him yell in pain.

"That's impossible! No one can beat you, except dad!"

"Well, she did alright. She's not a Jounin you wanna trifle with. One angry temptation, and your life's as good as gone."

"With that Gentle...Punch...or something?"

"Gentle Fist. And yes. Just do me a favour Haruhi." Haruhi looked up to her Sensei. "Don't pick a fight with any of Team 10. Got it?" Haruhi thought back to Ayane's superior strength in which she was only just able to survive without her using the secret Jutsu. "Haruhi!"

"You have my word, Sensei. But that doesn't mean I won't aim to get stronger. Next time me and Ayane get in a fight again, I'll make sure to make her wish she hadn't messed with an Uzumaki!" Konohamaru smiled.

"Well, that's for another day. C'mon, bet Naruto and Sakura are worried 'bout you." Konohamaru said, but when Haruhi tried to stand, she fell down again, panting terribly, forcing Konohamaru to catch her. "Guess you're a bit tired from your fight with Ayane, huh? Figures." Konohamaru heaved Haruhi onto his back, giving her a piggyback ride back to the Uzumaki residence. Konohamaru knocked on the door of Haruhi's house to see Sakura as happy as ever, until seeing the weakened Haruhi, on top of Konohamaru.

"What happened?!" Sakura screamed worryingly, taking Haruhi off Konohamaru.

"Too much training." He lied. "The girl's a born soldier." Sakura took Haruhi to the living room, followed by Naruto and Tsukune. There, she performed a healing Jutsu to recover Haruhi's injuries, being the damaged muscle tissues caused by the normal fight, and the deep cuts in the palm of her hand caused by her resisting her possessed arm.

"Is Haruhi nee-san gonna be okay?" Asked Tsukune worriedly.

"Of course, son." Naruto said without worry, whilst giving him a soft tickle that made Tsukune giggle. "We'll just let Haruhi get some rest for now."

"I wanna stay with nee-san!" Tsukune said with resolution. Naruto smiled.

"Okay, c'mon Konohamaru." Naruto said.

"Sure, senpai." Both left, while Sakura healed the tired Haruhi. Whilst outside, Naruto and Konohamaru talked.

"That wasn't training that tired out Haruhi, was it?" Naruto said seriously.

"Guess you figured, huh?" Konohamaru replied.

"Those are fighting wounds, if it was training, it would just be scratched knees or elbows. Konohamaru, you're my best pupil, what happened to my daughter?" Konohamaru sighed.

"It was Hanabi's pupil: Ayane Hotaru." Konohamaru explained. "She used the Hotaru's secret Jutsu to almost force Haruhi to stab herself. If me and Hanabi hadn't come at the nick of time, Haruhi'd been in a far worse state." Naruto tensioned his fist.

"I never knew the Hotaru's would sink as low as picking on those higher than them." Naruto cursed.

"Ayane got a mouthful from Hanabi, I doubt she'll be a threat to Haruhi anymore, senpai."

"Good. Just stick by Haruhi at all times. She's my daughter, and me seeing her beat up is the last thing I wanna see." Konohamaru saluted.

"Will do, senpai!" Konohamaru turned to leave, giving one last look to Haruhi, who was now resting on the living room floor, then exited through the front door.


	7. A New Mission!

**A New Mission!**

Haruhi lost consciousness during her walk home with her Sensei Konohamaru. She didn't know when, where and why she did, all she knew was she did. Everything was dark around her, no light to be found, nothing. All she kept thinking about was the events momentarily, that is, nearly being killed by the mysterious Ayane. Until, suddenly, light filled her, and suddenly, she jerked up with a scream.

Panting hard, she seen she was in her living room floor, with a bandage on her hand. She seen that the sun was rising, so it must've been pretty early. And directly next to her was Tsukune, fast asleep and still in his formal clothes. Haruhi gave a gentle smile, knowing how worried he'd be in her state, so she patted his head, and he began to awaken. Quickly he too jumped up.

"Nee-san! You're okay!" Tsukune said happily. Haruhi rubbed his head while Tsukune hugged her.

"How did I end up here?" Asked Haruhi.

"You had too much training, nee-san. Your Sensei took you home and mom healed you all up." Tsukune explained innocently.

"Thought so." Haruhi said. Soon Sakura walked in.

"Ahh, Haruhi! Feeling any better?" Haruhi's mother said happily.

"Yeah, I suppose." Haruhi said. "My hand's a bit sore, but I'll be fine." Still in her own attire, she got up to rendevous with Konohamaru and the others.

"Hold on, you! " Sakura said roughly. "You're not going anywhere while you're like that!"

"I'm okay, I was just tired yesterday. Besides, D-Rank missions for half the day's a breeze." Haruhi said confidently.

"Well, be careful, and don't exert yourself!" Warned Sakura. "You got into this mess through training, you'll get back in the same way." Haruhi laughed slightly before setting off. The day was quite nice, despite the events previously. It got her head focussed onto bigger things, such as completing the Chakra control training. She walked through one of the lanes of the Hidden Leaf, but, before she could put the previous day aside, she heard a familiar voice.

"All better I see." Haruhi spun around to see Ayane once more, leaning against the fence, accompanied by two other Genin, presumably her squad members. One appeared to have pale, fuzzy orange hair, wearing a white scarf, and wore a blue coat, white shorts, wore his headband to his forehead, and appeared to be very fit. The other had neck-length long black hair, pale eyes and wore a short-sleeved coat parcially covering his mouth, black shorts and again, wore his headband to his forehead.

"Stay away from me, Ayane!" Screamed Haruhi, getting into a battle stance. Ayane remained still.

"I'm not here to fight. If I did, I'd get scolded by Sensei again." Ayane said a little less cocky. "I came to see how your injuries were."

"Why do you care? You caused them!" Haruhi said still serious.

"You'd be surprised." Ayane still said calmly in her cute tone. "The Hotaru clan don't go beating up random people. I just wanted to see if the daughter of Naruto would be as tough."

"Even though you nearly stabbed me and caused me to bleed half to death!?" Asked Haruhi still seriously.

"Hmph. Anyways, I haven't really introduced you to the rest of my Team. Know thy enemy, they always say." The other two reacted. The pale-orange haired boy stepped to Haruhi and offered her a handshake through his bandaged arm.

"Hi." He said in a pleasant tone. "I'm Chono Akamichi from the Akamichi clan. I'm sorry for Ayane yesterday." Haruhi gaped at this boy's pleasant tone, compared to Ayane's. Haruhi, not in the mood for a fight with anyone, shook it with a gentle smile.

"It's okay." Haruhi said gently. She looked at his physique, knowing the Akamichi clan by reputation. "By the way, you're from the Akimichi clan, right?"

"Yeah, glad you noticed. Why?"

"Well...from what I hear from my dad, all the Akamichi's are meant to be f-" Ayane raised her eyebrow expectantly, but at that point, the second boy jumped behind Haruhi and slapped her mouth shut, brewing a tut from Ayane.

"You're correct. And you'll also know they don't like being called the F word." He said quietly and cautiously.

"Huh? Meant to be what?" Chono asked. Haruhi decided to base her statement differently.

"Meant...to have their...Taijutsu based on their...ummm...Chakra from their internal stomach energy. Yet you're very thin. How would you fight the way you do if you have no Chakra to rely on?" Haruhi asked, giving herself a pat on the back for phrasing her words perfectly.

"Ho-ho, you really are the daughter of the great Naruto Uzumaki." Chono remarked. Haruhi gave a small blush. "Sorry, but I can't tell you that secret, yet. Wouldn't want you spoiling the fun, eh?"

"Guess not." Haruhi said, now out of the deep end. "What about you?" The boy that saved Haruhi from a black eye stepped round to his comrades.

"My name is Tatsuno Ichihara." He said coolly.

"Tatsuno, huh? And what's your fighting style like?" Haruhi asked.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Tatsuno said darkly. Haruhi gasped, before Tatsuno grew a smile.

"I'm kidding. I can't really tell, otherwise Hanabi will scold us." Tatsuno said a little calmer now.

"Is there anything Hanabi-Sensei doesn't scold you for?" Haruhi asked.

"If there is, point it out." Ayane said darkly. "Okay, intro's are over. I paid my respects, and so did Chono and Tatsuno. So, we're outta here." At that, Ayane left, with Tatsuno and Chono following like lost puppies.

"Team Ten, huh?" Thought Haruhi. And finally, Haruhi went down her own path to meet with her own team.

Later, whilst Haruhi was going to the checkpoint, Naruto Uzumaki had arrived at the Interrogation Bay, where the mother of Chono: Ino Akamichi had finally received results on the dreaded assassin; Katakuna, and have found something interesting. Naruto arrived to find the now grown up Kunoichi. Her hair was situated into a pony-tail, and her eyes still had the same light blue around them. She was still skinny, keeping her slimness on the top of her to-do list. At the time, she was wearing a lab coat and was carrying a clipboard.

"Well, Ino? What've you got?" Asked Naruto.

"Ahh, Naruto. Well, it's official, your attempted assassination wasn't a random attack, there is something behind it." Ino said formally.

"I knew it!" Naruto said. "So, what's with him? Why would he launch an attack on the Hokage's Successor so willingly?" Ino ran through some notes on her clipboard.

"Well, this was the most I could gather, this guy's under tight Genjutsu to protect the information inside. It appears Katakuna was involved with an underground Shinobi criminal gang somewhere in the Fire Country." Ino explained.

"Shinobi gang?" Naruto said in question.

"Yes. Katakuna was responsible for the killing and thievery of those with valuable resources, like jewels or large sums of money."

"To fund their actions, no doubt?"

"Precisely. The attack on you means that the Hidden Leaf must have some form of wealth to steal."

"Then that means..." Naruto paused, and dug into the pockets of his Sage coat, and withdrew an artifact that made Ino's eyes widen in wonder: a blue crystal-like gem, which covered the size of Naruto's palm, and gleamed in the sunlight from the window. "...He was after this."

"N-Naruto...what is that?" Ino asked with wonder.

"It's the Joukai Diamond. Said to appear once every hundred years. And when it does appear, war breaks out for it's possession, because with it's rarity, it can be sold for countless material. Thanks to my wits and Shikamaru's quick-thinking, we were able to stop bloodshed. Everyone believed it's appearance was a hoax, and abandoned the idea. But it looks like this criminal gang have found it."

"But wait." Interrupted Ino. "If the criminal gang discovered it's appearance, they could use that information to begin wars against the Hidden Leaf. Why didn't they tell other nations about it?"

"My guess is, if they told anyone else, they would want a hefty cut of the profits. Something they don't want." Naruto said, while Ino understood. "So as long as I hold this diamond, the entire village will always be in danger."

"But, what can we do to stop wars breaking out?" Asked Ino worriedly.

"The diamond must be cut into several pieces and given equally to the countries as a token of peace. If the diamond is cut and scattered across the nations, it's value to the criminal gang will be worthless."

"I see. Then for safety's sakes, I'll continue the interrogations to extract more clues." Ino approached the deceased body of Katakuna and continued her Jutsu.

"Thank you, Ino." Naruto said kindly while pocketing the Joukai Diamond. He left Ino to her work.

"A C-Rank mission to deliver the Joukai Diamond to the Fire Country's best jeweller and return the pieces. I think I know just the girl to pull this off." Thought Naruto.

Haruhi found Konohamaru and her other squad members at the lake bridge. She puffed frantically as she ran to be on time.

"Right on schedule, Haruhi." Konohamaru said. "Feeling better?"

"Yes!" Haruhi said happily, presenting her bandaged hand.

"What happened to her?" Asked Shikari with a hint of worry.

"Long story, Shikari. I'll explain the details later." Konohamaru said. The four went to the Hokage's tower to receive their first mission of the day. Before they could enter the Hokage's office, Sakura was perched in front of the door leading to ther office.

"Mom? What are you doing out here?" Asked Haruhi.

"Your father's discussing important matters with Tsunade-sama." Sakura explained. "Naruto said it was "Hokage's to know and Jounin's to find out."" Sakura said the latter in Naruto's style of voice. Takai looked into the door behind Haruhi's mother, and sighed.

"I see." Takai said rather crestfallen.

"Takai-kun? What's the matter?" Asked Haruhi in a concerned voice.

"It's nothing." Takai said more focused. The doors of the office swung open to reveal Naruto, before he could get Sakura inside once more, he spotted Haruhi and her team.

"Ahhh! Just the team I wanna see." Naruto said happily.

"Really?" Asked Haruhi.

"What's wrong, Senpai?" Asked Konohamaru.

"Come in, and Grandma will explain it." Naruto said.

"Grandma?" Asked Shikari and Takai to themselves. The Team and Sakura went inside, to see Tsunade sitting at her desk with many notes.

"Konohamaru." Tsunade said suddenly. "I need you and your underlings on a C-Rank Mission." At that, Haruhi gasped in excitement, while Shikari, Takai, Konohamaru and Sakura gasped in danger.

"Woohoo!" Bellowed Haruhi in happiness. "We get to go in a C-Rank mission!"

"And here I was up for a good D-rank today." Konohamaru said to himself.

"What is the meaning of this?" Asked Sakura seriously. "Haruhi and her team have only been a Genin less than a fortnight, and you expect her to go on a C-Class Mission so suddenly?"

"Haruhi's team is the perfect squad to do this." Tsunade explained. "Also, I wish to test Konohamaru's true mettle."

"Naruto! Say something! We can't let our daughter take on this mission just after being fully recovered." Sakura said to Naruto.

"You need a bit more confidence in your own daughter, Sakura." Naruto said calmly. Sakura gasped silently, watching her daughter celebrate her Mission class, while Shikari tried calming her down.

"You're right." Sakura said more lighter. She took her place next to Naruto, and let Tsunade explain the mission, after Haruhi calmed down.

"This mission is going to be much harder than all you Genin have been through so far." Tsunade started. Then, she took out the Joukai Diamond, which made Haruhi, Shikari and Konohamaru gasp in wonder. "This is the Joukai Diamond. A very rare artifact that if it doesn't get cut into small pieces, it could spell disaster for the Leaf."

"Why? It's just a lump of rock, right?" Asked Shikari with little care.

"This Diamond appears once per century, Nara!" Tsunade said sternly. "It's value can oversee a man's lifetime ten times."

"With that level of money..." Konohamaru began.

"Exactly." Tsunade said. "People will be willing to begin wars for it, regardless of consequence." Haruhi grew serious.

"So what's the mission, Tsunade-sama?" Asked Haruhi.

"Deliver this Diamond to the best jeweller in the Fire Country. Her name is Tsuji Yoshike. Only she is trustworthy enough to cut this without a double-crossing." Tsunade started. "It is imperative you do not surrender this diamond to any who try to take it. There's one group of Shinobi that want this diamond to fuel dark desires, so completing this mission is a must." The team grew serious. "Team 8, you may begin when ready!"

"Yes!" They said in unison, as Konohamaru took the Diamond, pocketed it in his flak jacket and all four of them departed.

"Are you sure about this, Naruto?" Asked Tsunade, once the door was fully shut. "Your daughter may be put in serious danger by doing this. Plus a few Chuunin will get this done by day's end."

"No, this mission is for Haruhi. I feel it in my gut this will make her stronger." Naruto said warmly.

Haruhi reunited with the team, once she finished preparing her backpack. On arriving, she noticed Konohamaru was wearing a long scarf.

"Sensei? Why are you wearing a scarf?" Asked Haruhi dumbly. "It's the middle of Spring."

"It's my good luck scarf." Konohamaru said. "I always bring it for big missions." Haruhi understood with a nod. "Alright, Team. Our top priority is getting the Joukai Diamond to Tsuji Yoshike for cutting. If anyone shall cross our path that tries to take the Diamond, particularly this Shinobi group, I will be the one to dispatch them. Under no circumstance are you to battle with them. Agreed?"

"That's a bit boring, isn't it?" Asked Haruhi.

"Haruhi!" Said Konohamaru sternly. "Remember what I've taught you. If we have something they want..."

"Then they'll get something we want." Haruhi said remembering Konohamaru's test.

"A hostage to bargain with the Joukai Diamond. If we do encounter the enemy, for the sake of both the mission and ourselves, you musn't engage them! Agreed?" Konohamaru said seriously. Haruhi hesitated.

"Yes!" The three Genin said together.

"Good! Let's make our first C-Rank a success." Konohamaru said, then indicating to the gate guards, the gates to the Hidden Leaf Village were opened.

"Nervous?" Asked Shikari to Haruhi.

"Not in the slighest!" Haruhi said trying to contain her excitement.

"You seem confident we'll succeed." Takai said blankly.

"Of course, Takai-kun! We'll ace this!" Haruhi said confidently.

"Then, let's go!" Konohamaru commanded. And soon, the four left the Hidden Leaf Village, into the wild beyond. Around two hours after their departure, the Team were walking across the forest en route to their destination.

"Hmmmm...why isn't anything happening yet?" Asked Haruhi.

"You idiot! We want nothing to happen, or it'll be a mess!" Shikari said dully.

"Still! I wouldn't mind getting my hands round one of them..." Haruhi started, but during her battle speech, an insect had dropped itself on Haruhi's shoulders, raising a high-pitched scream from the girl, and jumping on Takai.

"It was only an insect, Haruhi..." Takai said, then dropped her.

"I knew that." Haruhi said, massaging her backside from being dropped.

"You're such a drag, Haruhi. Let's just hope you didn't give away our position." Shikari said.

Meanwhile, back at the Hokage's tower, Naruto was still getting training from Tsunade with Sakura overlooking.

"Why does the Hokage have to do so much paperwork?!" Asked Naruto dully.

"The Hokage's more than just a title to strut around with, you know! You have to take responsibility for the Village." Tsunade explained. But before Naruto could counter-argue, the doors banged open to reveal Ino.

"Naruto! I found something bad!" Yelled Ino in panic.

"What's wrong?!" Asked Naruto.

"It's the Joukai Diamond! I figured out how they tracked it here!" Ino said more focussed. Then, she unpocketed a scroll from her pocket and opened it, revealing a detailed blue-print of a complicated handheld mechanism. "They were tracking it with this machine. It's able to detect the Joukai's metallic structure and tell them exactly where it is!" Ino reported. Naruto grew worry on his face. "And according to a conversation Katakuna had with the gang leader, that if he fails, they'll wait for the Diamond to leave the Village and attack the ones in it's possession!" Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and he could hear the sound of Sakura gasp and cover her mouth. "Naruto, is the Diamond still here?!"

"The Diamond's already being dispatched to the jeweller! And worst yet, my daughter's the one delivering it!" Naruto said seriously. Ino gasped too. Tsunade gave a sigh.

"This is bad." Tsunade said. "The odds of Haruhi's team being attacked isn't a matter of luck anymore."

"You bet it's bad!" Sakura screamed, then grabbed Naruto by the collar. "What were you thinking sending Haruhi on this mission?! Her life's in danger now!!" Naruto looked into the angry eyes of his wife, which were beading with trickles of tears, and shut his own in remorse.

"Sakura!" Tsunade yelled. "Yelling won't turn the clocks back! What we need to do is send a team to retrieve Haruhi before she enters danger!" Sakura let Naruto go in, and calmed down.

"Ino." Naruto uttered at last.

"Yes, Naruto?" Ino prepped.

"How many are in this team of Shinobi?" Asked Naruto.

"Well, as far as Katakuna's knowledge goes, around five or six." Ino said. Naruto smiled.

"They're no Akatsuki then." Naruto said with a smile. He looked up. "Konohamaru, look after her."

"Naruto! You can't rely on Konohamaru to protect Haruhi!" Tsunade said angrily. Naruto still remained calm.

"You said it yourself. You wanted to test his mettle, right?" Naruto said. Tsunade was thrown back by this.

"Well at least send a reconaissance team to back Haruhi up if she needs it!" Sakura said now in more panic.

"Okay. But I'm telling you. Konohamaru won't lose."

The four traversed now through a less-dense forest with trees making few appearances now. They weren't running, but just had a nice easy stroll as to look natural.

"Excellent team, we're half-way to the jeweller. If we increase our pace, we can get there and back by sundown." Konohamaru said.

"Pity." Muttered Shikari. "I was enjoying the scenery."

"Oh, c'mon Shikari-kun. Doesn't the sound of completing your first C-Rank Mission better than looking at some boring scenery?" Asked Haruhi with excitement. Shikari paused.

"Nope, I like the scenery better." Shikari said dully. Haruhi tutted.

"You're hopeless!" Said Haruhi with a pout. "What 'bout you Takai-kun? Doesn't a C-Rank excite you?" Takai paused the same as Shikari.

"Not really." He said blankly. Haruhi gritted her teeth.

"You guys are idiots!" Haruhi pouted. But unknown to the Team, behind a nearby bush, four stealthy ninja had spotted the Team, and one smiled.

"Target sighted. Here comes our payday, boys!"


	8. Battle for the Joukai! Konohamaru's Rage

Battle for the Joukai! Konohamaru's Rage!

Naruto returned to the Hokage's office, sending the team he selected to back Haruhi up in case of danger. He opened the doors to reveal Tsunade and Sakura in the office.

"The Team's been sent. They should arrive at Haruhi's location in half an hour." He said. Sakura raised a relief-filled smile.

"You doubt if they will be of use?" Asked Tsunade.

"Kind of. Konohamaru won't lose easily to those criminal ninja." Naruto replied.

"What makes you so sure?" Asked Sakura. "I know two people have ever defeated Konohamaru-kun in his Jounin lifetime, but can he defeat all of the criminal gang, when you and Haruhi had trouble with one?" Naruto paused for a moment.

"Yes. He can, and he will."

The four team members of Team 8 were making their way across the forest with few trees coming across their path.

"Yo, Sensei!" Said Shikari in his dull-like voice. "Any closer to that jeweller?"

"Obviously not, Shikari-kun! He said we passed the half-way mark ten minutes ago. If it took us two hours to get to the half-way point, do the math!" Haruhi said sternly. Konohamaru meanwhile wasn't paying attention, he was busy focussing on the environment around him. Bushes, trees, the grass around them, they all had a strange vibe to them.

"Not an animal in sight..." Konohamaru thought. And at that moment, a bird took flight from a nearby tree. Konohamaru noticed with his keen eyesight. "Something provoked that bird to flee..." He looked over to the rest of his underlings; Shikari and Haruhi were oblivious to their surroundings as Haruhi punched Shikari in the jaw for mocking her dress sense, yet Takai was walking, but observing the scenery through his eyes, then nodded to his Sensei. Konohamaru looked forward again.

"Something wrong, Sensei?" Asked Haruhi innocently.

"N-no, nothing, Haruhi." Konohamaru said casually.

"Just say the when, Sensei, and we'll beat those punks to a pulp!" Haruhi said confidently. Then, she heard an explosion from behind her. As soon as the dust settled from the explosion, many Kunai came flying for Haruhi and her group. One particular Kunai was inches away from Haruhi's face. Fear engulfed her body on how far it was from her. Until, a mass amount of rock rose from the ground and shielded Haruhi and the group from the Kunai.

"Earth-Style - Earth Wall!" Konohamaru yelled as the wall stood many feet above the group. Haruhi was panting frantically at how death was inches away.

"S-Sensei..." Haruhi said in awe.

"Haruhi? Are you alright?!" Asked Konohamaru in worry.

"Y-Yeah, just a little shaken." She said regaining her senses.

"Is it the criminal gang?" Asked Shikari.

"No doubt about it, I can smell their stench a mile away." Said Takai in spite.

"Looks like there's no helping it." Shikari said dully.

"Remember what I said, keep behind me, and let me do the fighting." Konohamaru said cautiously. The Genin nodded. Then Konohamaru placed his palm on the wall and it began to mould itself back into the grass below. As soon as the rocky barrier was down, they suddenly realised that five Shinobi had appeared. "It's them." Said Konohamaru to his group. They heard one male ninja laugh.

"And here we thought we had you." The ninja said. "You must be quite the ninja to notice us coming." Haruhi seen on closer inspection he had black long hair that was combed to his scalp, and wore a long trenchcoat that looked unusually familiar to her. On closer study she seen they all had similar trenchcoats. She also seen his forehead protector was nowhere to be found. On top of all that, he had a very menacing face. Haruhi became frightened over the five's appearance.

"I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi. Grandson to the Third Hokage and heir to the Sarutobi Clan." Konohamaru said in a serious tone. The ninja grew a smile.

"It's an honour to meet a relative to the Third Hokage." He said mockingly. "The name's Saito! Do well to remember it!"

"Are you the leader of this criminal gang?" Asked Konohamaru.

"Hmm, well done. You Leaf ninja aren't as dull as they say." The man named Saito replied.

"Be on your way, we have no business with you." Konohamaru said now more serious.

"No can do, Leaf ninja." Another ninja prepped up, and from Haruhi's point of view: a female. She had long blonde hair and had an equally menacing face. "For you see, you have something we need."

"The Joukai Diamond's wealth shouldn't be used for corrupt ways!" Konohamaru said in spite.

"So why not run back to whatever hole you crawled out of and leave us alone!" Haruhi finally spat. The female member laughed, as Konohamaru edged beside her more.

"My, what a tongue you have for a little brat!" She said mockingly.

"The names Haruhi Uzumaki to you!" Haruhi said seriously. The five muttered to themselves. But the blonde merely smirked.

"So, you're the brat we've been hearing so much about!" She said. Haruhi was confused even further. "Does the name Katakuna, ring a bell?" Haruhi gasped, now remembering her Genin exam, and how she had to defend her father from certain death from that name. She clutched her fist.

"I think she heard of him." Saito said with a laugh.

"You guys are the scumbags who nearly killed my father?!" Haruhi screamed, and was about to rush forward, before Takai stopped her.

"What of it? He was just another pathetic ninja thinking he's top of the tree!" The blonde said with an evil smirk. Haruhi was now on the verge of exploding. "How I'd love to have been the one to have stabbed him in the shoulder like that. I'd take great pride in stabbing a Hokage-level ninja while leaving himself wide open. Hah! There'd be no pride to obtain! What pride would you have in stabbing a weakling like him?!"

"You never...speak about my father like that again!!" Haruhi screamed before shoving Takai away with force and charging for the blonde.

"Haruhi! Stop!" Konohamaru yelled.

"Haruhi!" Yelled Shikari.

"I'll handle this brat." The blonde said to the enigmatic Saito.

"As you wish." He said. Haruhi jumped up to her and was about to strike her down. But the blonde jumped up to a surprised Haruhi and kicked her away to the middle of the no-man's-land. Haruhi landed, and wiped a blood-stain from her cheek, where the blonde made her mark. "Not so tough now, are we?"

"I'm tough enough to beat you!" Haruhi yelled.

"Haruhi! Fall back!" Konohamaru warned.

"I wouldn't get involved Leaf ninja!" Saito said. "This is the brat's fight." At that, Haruhi threw multiple Shuriken to the blonde ninja, but she ducked and avoided it with ease.

"Hah! Too easy!" She mocked, and she herself threw a Kunai for Haruhi. She smirked of how easy it was to block or evade. She took the first option and used another Kunai to block it. But the attacking Kunai passed through blocking Kuani and vanished.

"Huh?!" Gaped Haruhi, as another Kunai shot onto Haruhi's other arm. Letting loose a painful squeal from Haruhi. "H-How did you do that?!"

"Heh! You're pathetic! Don't you recognise a Kunai clone from a real one?" The blonde said evilly, as she approached the weakened Haruhi and using full force, kicked her on the cheek, causing her to bang across the ground and land weakingly.

"Haruhi!" Yelled Shikari. He formed a hand seal, and attempted to use his Shadow Possession on the blonde and stop her from harming Haruhi any longer. But a third of the enemy ninja came and punched Shikari away from the Team. He got up just in time to see the ninja in front of him, who was heavily built and had short brown hair.

"Die brat!" He yelled toughly. He attempted to punch him, but Shikari blocked it.

"Think again!" Shikari said cunningly. Then, Shikari jumped away from the ninja, only to show, he used Shadow Possession on him while in contact with him.

"You...little brat!" He growled. Shikari then noticed two more of the enemy ninja charging for him.

"Takai! Sensei! Cover me!" Shikari shouted over.

"Takai, go find Haruhi and make sure she doesn't get beaten up!" Konohamaru ordered.

"I'll handle them!" Takai said seriously. Instead of running to save Haruhi, he intercepted the attacking ninja that went for Shikari. "Fire-Style - Double Fireball!" He called and from his mouth exhaled two separate balls of fire that rocketed straight for the charging ninja. The two ninja smirked, jumped up and avoided it with ease. Takai gaped, and was punched by one ninja in the jaw and forced backwards. Meanwhile with Haruhi, she finally removed her stabbed Kunai from her arm, covering the wound so not to lose too much blood.

"Surely you have a name I can call you." Haruhi said in spite to her very evil Kunoichi.

"It's Shimamura, and if you wanna know so badly, I'm way stronger than that weakling Katakuna!" She said. Haruhi gasped, but kept her cool with a smile.

"Least I'll have something to brag about once I beat you!" Haruhi said and attempted to punch Shimamura, but instead, Haruhi got kicked in the stomach. Fortunately, it was a Shadow Clone, which puffed on contact. The attacker wasn't surprised at all, but held up her hand, as to block a kick from Haruhi.

"How disappointing. I was hoping the daughter of that weakling would put up half a fight!" Shimamura said mockingly. And then, grabbed Haruhi's ankle and throw her to the ground and punched her in the stomach, forcing Haruhi to release a current of blood from her mouth. To further weaken Haruhi, Shimamura released a barrage of identical punches straight on the same spot, laughing hysterically, while Haruhi closed her eyes from the pain.

Konohamaru meanwhile sighed at the sight he was witnessing: Haruhi being punched to a pulp, Shikari struggling to hold his Shadow Possession from time pressure, and Takai fighting two enemy ninja in a flurry of Taijutsu, and losing.

"What will it be, Grandson of the Third Hokage?" Said the leader, Saito, suddenly. "Which will you save from death? Then again, if you give us the Joukai Diamond, we'll trouble you no more." Konohamaru paused to think and sighed.

"Ninja!" He yelled in a commanding voice. Everyone stopped and turned to face him, for all those that can. The three Genin were too weakened to take this opportunity and strike back. "Cease your senselessness on my students, leave in peace and I promise, you'll live. If not, I can't guarantee your survival." Each and every ninja erupted into fits of laughter.

But unknown to all the fighters in the area, four Leaf ninja had finally appeared from behind a bush to be the extra support Team 8 needed and the team sent by Naruto as the Reconaissance Team: Team 10.

"They're in trouble." Tatsuno whispered.

"Especially Haruhi. No surprise there!" Ayane smirked.

"Watch your tongue!" Hanabi said in spite.

"Well c'mon, Haruhi's getting beat up out there!" Said Chono in worry. "Let's beat those jerks!" Before he could reveal their position, Hanabi stopped him.

"Wait, Chono. Sarutobi has not performed yet. Wait until he fights, and if the situation does not improve, then we will assist." Hanabi said.

"Konohamaru-sensei can't take out five at once!" Chono said cynically.

"I take that bet!" Tatsuno said with a smirk. "If he can beat those ninja, without our help, you do all our D-ranks in my place."

"You're on!" Chono said with a smile.

"You guys are idiots!" Said Ayane with a vein on her head.

Meanwhile, Shimamura ended her laughing. "Surely you must be joking!" Shimamura laughed, and then stomped on Haruhi. She applied pressure to her footwork, putting all her weight on her foot that was forced on Haruhi as she gave scream after scream in pain and agony. "Will you destroy me now?" Hearing the intense screams of Haruhi made as the female ninja began crushing Haruhi with her foot, Konohamaru grew ever more angry.

"Yes...I will!!!" He yelled in anger. In such fast pace, he formed a variety of different hand signs and focussed on one. "Wind-Style - Tornado's Cry!" And then, Chakra raged all around him, in the form of wind. The wind was so strong, that the attacking ninja had to brace themselves to keep themselves from being blown away. As the Chakra blew all around him, Konohamaru roared, in both anger and the Chakra gathering. Then, the wind died down, and Konohamaru revealed himself to be immersed in a blue Chakra aura.

"What is this Jutsu?" Asked Saito in worry. Then, in a blink of an eye, Konohamaru was right in front of Shimamura.

"What the?!" She said in panic. And almost immediately, she was punched in the face, away from Haruhi, that was amplified by a great surge of wind. Shimamura was thrown away at such a distance, and such speed, it widened the eyes of everyone who seen it.

"Sensei..." Whispered Haruhi weakly before going unconscious. Not finished with his assault, he charged for the still-airbourne Shimamura and prepared his fist. Along with a strong punch, he released a great number of Wind Chakra that ended Shimamura's fall, and blasted her into a small crater made by the impact. Then, using his great speed, he returned to the main battlefield and was ready to attack Shikari's attacker and using his wind punch again, he ejected him away from Shikari, just after the Shadow Possession gave way.

"Shikari, can you move?" Asked Konohamaru.

"Y-Yeah, Sensei..." Said Shikari just as stunned as the attackers.

"Make sure they don't harm Haruhi!" Konohamaru said sternly. Then, the two Takai attackers, plus Shikari's attacker attacked at once.

"Die!" They yelled together! But Konohamaru was ready, and raised both his hands as he created a strong wind that blew all of them back.

"Go now!" Konohamaru yelled to Shikari.

"Right!" Shikari said, no longer in lazy mood and ran for Haruhi.

"You idiots! He's using Wind Chakra! Use Fire to crush him!" Yelled Saito in anger to his henchmen. Konohamaru smiled cheesily. One of Takai's attacking ninja prepared a Jutsu.

"Fire-Style - Volcanic Wave Jutsu!" He yelled, and from his mouth, he released a horde of fire straight for Konohamaru.

"Sensei!!" Yelled Shikari in worry over his Sensei.

"Earth Style - Earth Wall!" He called. And instead of using the wall as a shield, he was elevated by it, towering over the battlefield and blocked the fire wave. Konohamaru then jumped behind the wall and prepared another Wind Jutsu. "Wind-Style - Wind Cannon!" Using his fist, he created a torrent of wind that bashed through the rock wall, crumbling it to pieces, and fired straight for the flames on the other side of the wall. Immediately, the wind was consumed by the flames, but continued it's path as fire straight for the three ninja.

"What?!" The three yelled and jumped, narrowly missing the flaming assault.

"Got'cha!" Thought Konohamaru. He placed his hands on the ground. "Earth-Style - Great Mud River!" The entire battle field turned into a swamp of mud, that the three enemy ninja landed straight into. Then Konohamaru raised his palm, that created a strong tornado-strong gust, causing the mud to create a current and cause the three ninja to slip and become immersed in the mud. "Time to finish you off!" He prepared another combination of hand seals. "Fire-Style - Dragon Flame Jutsu!" The blue aura around Konohamaru turned into red, and from his palms came a wave of fire that burned the mud to ashes, and burned where the three enemy ninja were encased, almost incinerating them. Shortly after, Konohamaru waved the fire away, both from himself and from the battlefield, and seen no trace of the ninja.

"I-Incredible!" Shikari said. "He took out those ninja like if they were flies!" The blue aura returned around Konohamaru and he looked straight for the leader: Saito.

"You think you're so powerful after defeating those weaklings!? Think again!" He yelled. And then charged straight for Konohamaru and punched him on the cheek.

"I told you you'd die if you didn't stop harming my students and leave." Said Konohamaru bitterly. Saito's hand was removed with Konohamaru's and he began crushing it with his bare hands. Saito yelled in pain as he tried to remove it. Eventually after that torture, he kicked Saito away. "Time to end this!" He extended his palm and Chakra built around it. With his incredible speed Konohamaru appeared before Saito. "Rasengan!!!" Plunging the Chakra ball into Saito, the entire battlefield was erupted in dust as the Saito was blown away by the force of the attack, and soon he too perished. The blue aura died down, and Konohamaru gasped for breathe.

"In the end, they were just petty ninja." Konohamaru said to himself. Elsewhere, the entire Team 10 witnessed the attacks.

"Man! He took out all of the ninja single-handed!" Ayane said in awe.

"I'd hate to be fighting him!" Chono said in unease.

"Sarutobi..." Wondered Hanabi. "You're different from before..." Konohamaru checked on his Team, with Takai using his own initiative to return to his comrades.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Said Takai.

"Just a few scratches, I'll live." Said Shikari. Knowing the answer to Haruhi's question, Konohamaru approached the unconscious body of Haruhi.

"Haruhi?" He said gently. She began to awaken from her immensely injured state.

"Sensei..." She said in pain. On seeing Konohamaru's happy face, at the fact Haruhi lived yet again, Haruhi drew a small tear, buried her head in her hands, and made small snivles.

"H-Haruhi..." Konohamaru said in gentle curiosity.

"It's...It's my fault we all ended up like this..." Haruhi cried. "If I'd have kept my mouth shut and not have gone against your plan, we'd all be okay...I'm the one who endangered the mission again. Go on, Sensei. Say it. I'm nothing but low-life trash!" Shikari and Konohamaru gaped at this. Konohamaru raised Haruhi's face up by her chin with his fingers.

"You're not trash Haruhi." He said gently. "You were defending your father's honour, and even I couldn't stop you from doing that."

"B-But, that's the second time you had to save me from being killed!" Haruhi said, still crying.

"And that's a bad thing?" Asked Konohamaru. "You're my student, and as a student, you learn from these mistakes to build on them. And it's my job as your Sensei, to guide you in the right direction and even save you from being killed. The three of you will become stronger, but for now, you're still a bit young. Right?" Konohamaru ended his speech with a smile. Haruhi wiped her tears away and smiled too.

"Yes!" She said as optimistic as ever. But before the mission could continue, all four heard a scream from afar. They turned to see Shimamura still alive, and charging straight for them with a Kunai in her hand.

"You think you've won?! It's not over 'till the Joukai's ours!" She yelled in wild anger. Konohamaru gaped to himself, knowing his Chakra level was on the red after defeating her four comrades. However, before Konohamaru could re-enter his battle mode, the battle was already decided. As someone else interfered: Hanabi. She dashed in front of Konohamaru's group, and prepared to kill the attacker.

"Gentle Fist!" She yelled, and rammed her palm straight for Shimamura's chest. She froze and coughed up blood. "Scum like you don't deserve that artifact!" She said bitterly. Haruhi widened her eyes at the realisation of her appearance. Then Shimamura dropped to the ground, dead.

"Hanabi?" Asked Konohamaru. "What are you doing here?"

"Senpai sent me on a Reconaissance mission with my Team." She said. "The Joukai Diamond was being tracked and your Team were in mortal danger. So we thought. In case things went out of control, we were to interfere and ensure victory." Konohamaru grew a smile.

"Good ol' senpai, then." He said.

"H-Hanabi-Sensei...What did you do?" Haruhi asked, gaping at the deceased body of Shimamura.

"The Gentle Fist Taijutsu" She explained. "I attacked the Chakra system nearest her heart, and ruptured it completely, killing her instantly."

"Yeesh, I've heard of heart attack, but this is ridiculous." Shikari uttered. Haruhi couldn't help but raise a giggle at the joke.

"Is the Joukai Diamond safe?" Hanabi asked. Konohamaru presented it, in all it's wondrous glory. "Then if the criminal gang has been vanquished and the Joukai is still in our possession, our mission is complete." The other members of Team 10 revealed themselves from behind the bush.

"You really need to take care of yourself more, Haruhi." Ayane said suddenly, making Haruhi pout.

"Nobody asked you, Ayane!" She said while crossing her arms.

"Well, just don't get beaten up again, Haruhi. I think your reputation's already on an all-time low." Ayane said, and they started walking in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Thank you, Hanabi." Konohamaru said in a gratitude-filled voice. Hanabi stopped and turned back.

"Any time, Sarutobi." She said and finally the four dashed in their usual pace, knowing Team 8 can handle the mission from here.

"Shall we continue?" Asked Takai.

"Yeah! I'm just feeling sore, but I can carry on." Said Haruhi happily. Shikari, being the one to tease Haruhi often, poked Haruhi in the stomach, where most of her pains were carried. She gave a painful shriek, before whalloping Shikari in the same spot, only ten times harder.

"Alright, the worst's been taken care of. Let's go! The faster we complete the mission, the faster we can have Haruhi treated." Konohamaru said in fired-up mode. And so the Team continued, putting the fierce battle aside, and moving on with the mission at hand.


	9. The Mission Continues! The Real Leader?

**The Mission Continues! The Real Leader?**

The sigh of relief filled the Hokage's office as Team 10 arrived for the debriefing. The loudest sigh was indeed Sakura's, knowing her daughter is safe from harm.

"Well done, Team 10. With the defeat of the criminal gang comes the prevention of war breaking loose." Tsunade said calmly.

"We are not to thank, Tsunade-sama." Said Hanabi. "Konohamaru eradicated most of them, whilst I apprehended a lone survivor." Sakura immediately gaped, while Naruto smiled in both boastfulness and happiness.

"Told you so." Naruto gloated. Just then, the door opened yet again to reveal Ino.

"Ahh, good timing." Tsunade said with a relieved smile.

"You asked for me, Tsunade-sama?" Asked Ino formally.

"Yes. We need to make sure the criminal gang is fully destroyed. You've seen all their members, right?" Tsunade said.

"Yes." Ino replied.

"Can you check Hanabi's mind to see if all of them have been vanquished, if you don't mind Hanabi?"

"Not at all." Hanabi said calmly.

"Excellent. Can you do the Jutsu, Ino?" Asked Tsunade.

"Of course." Ino said. Hanabi, turned to Ino and closed her eyes, envisioning all five members as she and her team arrived. Ino placed a palm on her head and shut her own eyes, as she began to see the visions of which Hanabi seen. Around twenty seconds later, Ino opened her eyes with a gasp.

"What's wrong, Ino?" Asked Naruto. She took a second to reply, as the Jutsu she performed exhausted her.

"The criminal gang has not been destroyed!"

Team 8 were now walking through a forest path now, almost arriving at their destination. Haruhi was supported by Takai, her injuries weren't bad, but Konohamaru didn't want to risk it. Meanwhile Haruhi herself noticed Konohamaru to be struggling with every step.

"Are you okay, Sensei?" She asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah, perfect!" Konohamaru said as perky as ever. Thinking back, Haruhi remembered a portion of the fight Konohamaru fought before she passed out. She remembered the blue Chakra raging around him, and even knocked away Haruhi's opponent.

"Sensei?" Haruhi said.

"Yeah?" Her Sensei replied.

"What was that Jutsu you used to beat those ninja? The one where you glowed blue." She asked.

"You were awake for that one, huh?" Konohamaru said dumbly.

"Well it did beat those ninja." Shikari said.

"So what was it?" Haruhi asked.

"It's called Wind-Style - Tornado's Cry." Konohamaru started. "A high-level Wind Jutsu which allows me to send all my Chakra to my Chakra Points and immerse myself in it. With this Jutsu, my strength, speed and senses are increased tenfold, making me a sort of super-human."

"Whoa!" Haruhi said in wonder. "So you need good Chakra control for it?"

"You said it." Konohamaru said. "But, because my Chakra is flowing out of me at a rapid pace, if I don't end the battle quickly, my Chakra will run out, and I'll be wide open. If Hanabi hadn't come at the right second, I'd have went over the limit and be on Shikari's back by now." Shikari grunted.

"Thank the heavens for Hanabi-sensei then!" He said dully. Haruhi giggled at Shikari's laziness.

"How long until we reach the jeweller?" Asked Takai with focus. It was at that point, the four reached the end of the pathway, and stood on a hill overlooking a small village.

"Not long, I'd say." Konohamaru smirked. The four made it down the hill, with Haruhi being carried by Takai. Once down, they made their way into the small village in search of the jeweller.

"How can we tell which place is the jeweller, Sensei?" Asked Haruhi.

"I've been here a few times before. I'll know." Konohamaru said confidently. Looking around the village, it looked to be very tranquil; open shops as they passed by, kids playing around them and the houses suggested peace was the main ruler of this village. "This village is the most peaceful village in the Fire Country, senpai and the Hokage do everything in their power to make sure this peace is everlasting."

"I don't see why! It's just a village in the middle of nowhere." Said Shikari indifferently.

"You'd think so, Shikari. But to the two of them, peace means everything." Konohamaru replied. Haruhi gave a small smile, knowing her father would do something so kind. A few minutes later, the team began moving away from the hustle and bustle of the small village, and walked up a small hill to a fairly large building of sorts, surrounded by many trees. It had many luxurious designs to it, in the same pattern as all of the houses already passed The team approached the front door, passing under a wooden canopy, that was supported by two pillars of the same material and design. "This is the jeweller's place. She can do any artifact dealings, no strings attached, and one hundred percent loyal to the asking customer. If you need a new set of earrings, a jewel to cut, or even something as simple as finding the right jewel combinations to match your dress, she can do it all for the right price."

"She sounds like a ninja." Said Takai silently. Konohamaru smiled.

"That's funny, because she is." Konohamaru said then gave a knock on the front door. A few seconds later, a very pretty looking early-twenty year old woman appeared at the door. She had brown hair tied in a ponytail, long brown overalls with a t-shirt underneath.

"Welcome to Tsuji Yoshike's jewellery house!" She said happily. "How...Konohamaru-kun? Is that you?"

"Hey, Kihara!" Konohamaru said with a smile. The girl immediately lit up with a smile.

"It's been a while, Konohamaru-kun!" The girl named Kihara said happily. "What can we do for you and your...umm...children?" The girl said while looking at Haruhi and the others. Konohamaru blushed suddenly and Haruhi gaped at the guess.

"Oh, no no no! They're not my kids, they're my students." Konohamaru said hesitantly.

"That'd be too much of a drag!" Shikari muttered.

"Wow, Konohamaru-kun with students to teach." Kihara said with a grin. "So, _Sensei_, what can we do for you?"

"Well, ninja matters. Plus can you find a place for Haruhi to rest?" Konohamaru explained. At that, Kihara noticed Haruhi's arm and chest, which was covered in blood, or looked to be bruising badly. At once she gasped and took Haruhi off Takai's shoulders and led her inside.

"Come inside!" She said urgently. The team went inside, as a dark figure lurked above them.

Haruhi looked around the interior of the house and never seen such a house so luxurious. Many decorations, such as paintings, prized artifacts, and tapestries, were spread across the walls, making the walls almost invisible. Soon, Kihara led them into what appeared to be a sitting room, with many more artifacts hanging on the walls. There was a small sofa, in which Haruhi was placed on to relax.

"I'll get Tsuji-sama." Kihara said formally. She left the room in search of the supposed jeweller.

"Quite the place." Said Shikari dully.

"Well anyone would be rich after becoming a jeweller of her calibre." Konohamaru said. Takai remained silent throughout, only admiring the artifacts on the walls.

"Takai-kun?" Haruhi began. Her enigmatic companion turned to her. Curious about Takai's back-story, she couldn't find the words to ask the question. "Thanks for carrying me." She said rather embarrassingly. Takai paused for a moment.

"You're welcome." He said in a low voice as usual and turned back to his business. The doors swung open immediately to reveal Kihara and another woman, around ten years older,with blonde hair in a bun, very serious eyes, and wearing a high-quality pink kimono.

"It has been a while, Konohamaru." The woman said with a gentle voice.

"Yeah, Tsuji. Haven't seen you two in ten years." He said silently. Immediately, the jeweller, Tsuji, approached Haruhi.

"Kihara tells me you are the daughter of Naruto-sama." Tsuji said calmly.

"Mhm." Haruhi said, rather weakly now. She never realised the pain on her chest, only because she was fighting the pain away, but now that she was relaxing, the pain was coming back.

"Then it will be an honour for the blood relative of Naruto-sama to stay in my humble abode." Said Tsuji honourably.

"H-How do you know my dad?" Asked Haruhi gently.

"He is the person who keeps the peace in this village. I think it would be rather silly if the peacekeeper of this village, had not been in the village at all." Tsuji explained. Haruhi gave a gentle laugh, before coughing slightly. Tsuji took action and kneeled to Haruhi's level, presenting a small pea-sized pill. "Take this, and your injuries will recover as soon as you're team is ready to leave." Haruhi felt uncomfortable on looking at the pill. With all the stories she's been hearing, this would be a great plan to poison Haruhi. But nonetheless, she took it with her tiny fingers and swallowed it in one gulp. Immediately, she felt a tingling sensation, in not only her arm to which she was stabbed and her chest to which she was stamped on, but also her head. She felt her head become light and unfocused and slowly and dazedly, drifted off and fell asleep.

"Haruhi!" Yelled Shikari in worry.

"It is fine, child. This is the drug's natural effects." Tsuji began. "It makes the one taking it drift into a deep sleep, and allows the natural healing system to accelerate itself one hundred times than it normally would, basically healing the taker, no matter how serious the injury. It cannot work with a body's vital organs, and cannot remove deadly toxins, it can only heal serious injuries caused by the skin and muscles. She must remain asleep until her wounds are healed however, or the drug will rely on the girl's Chakra to heal, which will kill her in seconds." Shikari gulped at that thought.

"You sure you're not a medical ninja?" Shikari said indifferently.

"No, I use this pill whenever people attempt to claim my life." Tsuji said hesitantly.

"Tsuji-sama has been the target of many ninja who try to kill her for her wealth." Kihara explained.

"No wonder." Konohamaru said. "You use your wealth for peace in this village, when others want them for themselves. It's no wonder senpai made you one of the village's council members." Tsuji raised a gentle smile.

"I try my best." She said. "Now, we have matters to attend to, no?"

Meanwhile, a Kunoichi was making her way across the forest, in the direction of the village Team 8 resided, in all the speed she could muster: Hanabi Hyuga.

"I hope I am not too late!"

While the rest of Team 8 and the two jewellers discussed the Joukai Diamond's current situation, Haruhi had entered a dream much more evil than her dreams of her Sensei. She was back on the battlefield of where she fought the dreaded criminal gang. She tried holding her own against the female ninja: Shimamura, but her kicks and punches were overwhelming her within seconds. Then, she took Haruhi by the hair, forcing her to scream in pain.

"You pathetic wimp!" She said in her cocky tone. And then, taking a Kunai, she stabbed Haruhi in the chest, as she slowly faded away with a shrill scream echoing through the air.

Haruhi jumped back to reality seconds later, breathing hard and clutching her chest. She took time to look at her environment: the same sitting room as before, as she lay on the sofa. She massaged her head.

"Just a dream..." She whispered. She rubbed her arm, which showed to have no signs of her stab wound. She even inspected her chest, which wasn't bruised anymore. "What did that Tsuji woman do?" Her comrades were nowhere to be found, nor were Kihara or Tsuji. So she stood up, making her feet get re-used to the floor under her, and she ventured forward to find her comrades. After journeying through many corridors and pathways, she found a door that was ajar to have a strange glow emitting from it. Curiously, she peered inside, to see her three teammates, Kihara and Tsuji, kneeling down at what appeared to be a pillar, holding what seemed to be the Joukai Diamond. She came next to her allies. "What's going on?" Konohamaru jumped in fright at Haruhi's appearance.

"Haruhi, are you okay?" He asked sternly.

"Yeah, my wounds are better if that's what you're meaning." Haruhi said stroking her arm. Konohamaru looked over to Tsuji, who briefly nodded. Then he gave a smile.

"Good to hear." He said happily.

"So, what's Kihara and Tsuji doing to the Joukai Diamond?" Haruhi asked.

"Dividing it up into four hundred parts." Shikari explained. "These two have a Jutsu which can separate a solid object's structure, almost like your Shadow Clones, only more of a drag to wait for."

"Wh-what will we do with four hundred pieces of the Joukai Diamond?" Haruhi asked.

"Give them to all the nations of the ninja world." Takai said. "The only exception to us, because the Hokage wanted to make an artifact from our share of the Diamond." Haruhi looked closely to the Diamond, behind Kihara and Tsuji. The Diamond was slowly beginning to emit small pieces of Diamonds and drop to a small bundle of premade diamonds. The diamond itself showed to have a few holes carved out of it.

"Well, I'll go keep a watch-out in case things go wrong." Said Konohamaru. "I'll trust you guys to watch over her." The three Genin nodded as Konohamaru made his way out. While outside, Konohamaru limped and carried himself to a corner nearest the canopy, where he collapsed on his backside. He was panting frantically, and couldn't seem to stop. "Darn it...the effects of Tornado's Cry are resonating with the Chakra emitted in that room...making my Chakra even more depleted!" He tensioned slightly, trying to catch his breathe and relax his body. "I'm only glad we have no more competition for the jewel." Just then, he heard rustling from a tree nearby. He reacted by throwing a Kunai for whatever it was. Although it was merely a bird, the Kuani bounced off the tree and landed with a clatter.

"My, my..." Konohamaru heard a malevolent voice tutter. He turned his head slightly, but was punched by an unknown ninja. He crashed through one of the support pillars keeping the canopy up, and landed with many hard thuds to the ground. Soon after the canopy crashed down. The rest of the Team along with the two jewellers heard the crashes from the direction of Konohamaru.

"What was that?!" Haruhi yelled in panic and alarm. At once, Takai rushed past Haruhi and ran out of the room.

"Are you sure your pursuers were defeated, Haruhi-sama?!" Kihara said still focusing on the Diamond.

"...I don't know..." Haruhi said to herself, before racing outside with Shikari.

"Good luck, Haruhi-sama." Thought Kihara. Konohamaru tried getting up, but was forced back down by the foot of his attacker.

"And this was the man who defeated my entire gang without breaking a sweat?" The man continued. Konohamaru weakly looked up, seeing the same coat as the others beforehand. Along with that, the man had a long scar from the top of his forehead, stretching diagonally to the opposite side of his chin. He had a dark malicious face with silver hair. "The name's Kawazu! The real leader of the criminal gang you defeated!" Konohamaru gaped.

"I thought...Saito was the leader..." Konohamaru struggled to say. Then the three Genin made it outside, after climbing past the destroyed canopy, to see the mysterious Kawazu, standing on Konohamaru, the same way Haruhi herself was.

"Sen-" Haruhi was about to scream, before Takai masked her mouth with his hand and ducked behind the ruins.

"You cannot get involved Haruhi." Takai warned. "You'll only be a burden on Sensei." Haruhi gaped behind Takai's mouth. Carefully, Shikari and Takai edged forwards to see the enemy over Konohamaru.

"You'd think that weakling could come at least half of me?!" Kawazu yelled in pride before applying pressure to Konohamaru, making him grunt in pain. "What's wrong?! I thought you had a Jutsu which could eradicate me!"

"I don't show it to scum like you..." Konohamaru grunted even more. Then, Kawazu unpocketed a Kunai.

"And this scum will take great pleasure in killing you!" He said in an evil tone and was ready to stab Konohamaru. He prepared for the worse, and closed his eyes tight, ready to get the pain out of the way. Until, the pressure was lifted from his chest, he opened one eye, to see Kawazu being blown away by a strong impact.

"What the?!" Konohamaru whsipered. And when he got fully aware with his surroundings, Haruhi was standing before him. Stunned, Shikari and Takai soon realised the one they were holding was a Shadow Clone.

"Haruhi! Get back! This one's far stronger than the one you fought!" Yelled Konohamaru.

"No! I don't care if I'll be a burden to the Team...Nobody hurts my Sensei!" Haruhi screamed in controlled anger. Konohamaru gaped. Kawazu got up, massaging his cheek, where Haruhi punched.

"Heh! If it isn't the kid who got the hunt for the Joukai ball rolling?" Kawazu said mockingly. Haruhi prepared herself for combat, to both protect her Sensei and the Diamond.

"I can't keep relying on dad and Sensei to protect me when I'm in danger!" Thought Haruhi. "If I do, I'll never surpass them!" The evil leader then flashed away for a breif second and appeared right behind Haruhi. She was about to be punched, but she tilted her body by a large angle to avoid it. Then, thinking-fast, she took out a Kunai and swiped the arm that flew past her. Kawazu flinched and backed-off massaging his deeply scratched arm to which blood was oozing from. "You'll pay for that!"

"_Heh_!" Thought Konohamaru. "_She just wounded a very powerful ninja. I'm rooting for you, Haruhi, but whatever you do, don't use Rasengan_!" The fight continued, with Kawazu throwing punch after punch for Haruhi, but she avoided them all.

"Mom says the key to being a good ninja is evasion!" Thought Haruhi whilst avoiding the attacks. "All I gotta do now is look for an opening..." Then, pouring all his strength behind a single punch, Kawazu tried to punch Haruhi. "Now!" She tilted her head once again, dodging the punch, but grabbed the attacking arm, lifted herself upwards from it, and kicked Kawazu with all her might, sending him flying across the gardens. Then, Haruhi thought of a way to defeat him in one go, so she summoned a clone of herself and opened her palm.

"Haruhi, no! Don't do it!" Konohamaru yelled. But it was too late, the ball began to form, as Haruhi began panting from all the Chakra being drained. Then, she charged forwards as Kawazu began to recover himself. She was directly in front of him and had her Rasengan ready, as he aimed for his chest.

"Rasengan!" She called. But, something made her gasp in shock. Kawazu side-stepped away from Haruhi and grabbed her wrist, forcing the Rasengan ball to perish.

"_Not good_!" Thought Konohamaru, he tried to get up, but the strain on his body was too great that he was forced back to the ground. Haruhi tried to pull her hand free, but her lack of Chakra also consumed her strength and energy.

"Let me go!" She screamed. But then, Kawazu took a Kunai from his pocket, ever-worrying Haruhi, but he raised her caught hand up and scratched it, making Haruhi scream in pain. Then once the blade was done piercing her, Kawazu kicked her in the face away, making her land painfully.

"There! We're even!" He said evilly. She weakly got to her knees, clutching her cut arm. Kawazu was now standing right above her, and he grabbed her long silky hair and yanked her upwards. She was too exhausted to try and break free. "Yes, that's a nice look for you, when I kill you!"

"Darn it!" Thought Haruhi. "Rasengan still takes a toll on my body! Guess this is it..." The dreaded figure stood above Haruhi ready to kill her.

"I'll make sure to kill you nice and painfully!" Kawazu said evilly. Then just before he could perform the finishing blow, a third fighter came into the fray and knocked Kawazu away from Haruhi, forcing him to release her. Haruhi looked upon her rescuer: Takai.

"Takai-kun!" Haruhi screamed in relief.

"It was foolish of you to go into battle alone." Takai said discouragingly. He got into a stance and prepared himself. "You've injured him badly. Fall back behind those destroyed planks of wood and stay there!"

"B-but..." Haruhi said weakly.

"You've done your fighting!" Takai yelled. "It's time me and Shikari show ours!" Haruhi looked behind the destroyed canopy to see Shikari focus on a Shadow Possession. Haruhi stood up weakly.

"Okay. But be careful, Takai-kun." She said before running to Shikari.

"No you don't!" Kawazu yelled. He quickly intercepted Haruhi and tried to stab her with a Kunai, but Takai blocked it with his own.

"I'll be your opponent!" He said and punched Kawazu back and threw Haruhi to the ruins, where she landed on her backside.

"You could've prepared a pillow or something!" She whined massaging her landing spot. Takai immediately engaged with his foe, performing advanced Taijutsu works, involving mid-air kicks, foot sweeps and multiple punches.

"_Takai.._." Konohamaru thought. "_I can see I won't need to teach you Taijutsu_." Kawazu was blown back by another extreme punch made by Takai. He was struggling to keep up with his movements.

"This kid...he's quite the ninja. Too bad it was all for nothing." Kawazu said maliciously. He took out many Shuriken and Kunai. Attached to the Kunai were many paper bombs. Takai readied himself for a long-range dodge. Until, Kawazu fired them towards Konohamaru who was still too weakened. Takai gasped.

"You coward!" He yelled before running to save his Sensei. Takai was now directly in front of the Kunai and Shuriken and performed a hand sign. Before Konohamaru could figure out his strategy, the bombs ignited and exploded, with both of them in it's fire.

"Sensei!!! Takai-kun!!!" Haruhi screamed in fright. The fire died down, and smoke was all that remained. Then, when the smoke began to die away, Takai was standing over an unharmed Konohamaru. Takai however was covered in burns and Shuriken and Kunai pierced his arms and legs. "Takai-kun..."

"I must admit, I'm surprised you survived that attack." Kawazu said mockingly. "Tell me, how did you do it? How did you divert all the damage that would have killed both of you to you and survived?"

"I'm not about to tell you!" Takai said in pain. Kawazu simply walked forward.

"Not good!" Said Shikari. He used the Shadow Possession he stored as it raced towards Kawazu. But before he got trapped, he threw another Kunai and paper bomb that pierced the canopy surface. "Haruhi! Look out!" Shikari negated his Jutsu and dived for Haruhi, attempting to shield her from the blast. but it was too late, the paper bomb exploded, smashing the wood to pieces and covering Haruhi and Shikari in smoke and splinters. The smoke died down again, to show Haruhi, or at least ten Haruhi's, shielding herself and Shikari. The Clones vanished and the two crouched in pain.

"This is all entertaining, but I have a Diamond to steal." Kawazu said evilly. "I'll start off with that annoying girl!" He approached Haruhi with an intention to kill. Haruhi raked her mind for a plan.

"_His main form of attack is Taijutsu and weapons_." Devised Haruhi. "_He can counter Rasengan and Shadow Possession. But he can't do well when one of us fights fire with fire_." Then, she remembered her fight with the leader, and Takai's fight. All of a sudden, she threw a Shuriken for Kawazu, but using another Kunai, deflected it easily. "_That's it_!" Unfortunately for Haruhi, Kawazu was standing before her.

"See yah!" He said confidently. He stabbed a Kunai into her, but it turned out to be a Shadow Clone. The real Haruhi appeared in the distance behind him. She took out a Kunai and the blade began to glow a bright blue.

"_Dad taught me how to mix my Chakra with my weapons_!" Thought Haruhi. "_The strongest blade will pierce the other! It's all or nothing on this! I'm pouring every last drop of Chakra into this one throw! With this blade, I promise I'll complete this mission, and show that I am not a burden_!" Then, Haruhi let the Kunai fire from her hand, directly for the leader. He made a victorious grin.

"_He's not gonna block it! He's gonna dodge it_!" Thought Shikari. Using every bit of his Chakra, he used a Shadow Possession straight for Kawazu. Because the evil leader was focussing on Haruhi and her Chakra-enhanced blade, he didn't notice Shikari, until his Shadow Possession made contact. He grunted, and looked to Shikari.

"Why you...!" He yelled.

"Welcome to Loserville, Kawazu!" Shikari panted. The Kunai fired like a torpedo straight for Kawazu and pierced right through him, not before Shikari let go of his Possession, as he released a current of blood, on the place of piercing and his mouth. "Population: you!" Kawazu crashed to the ground, releasing a pool of blood.

"Beaten...by a bunch of runts!" Kawazu grunted. Saying these last words, he let out his last breathe and perished.

"The younger generation surpasses the older, Kawazu..." Konohamaru said, finally able to stand, barely. "Even if they're a bunch of runts, they'll always be the king." He looked around to see the three students beat up with their efforts. "I'm sorry I got you all involved in this. Personally, I knew something bad would happen to you three. But I'll make you stronger the next time danger stares our paths. That's a promise." Then out of the blue came a slow loud clap from behind. Konohamaru wheeled around to see his companion: Hanabi.

"Well, well. Konohamaru Sarutobi has a soft side." Hanabi said playfully. "Truly heart-warming, your little monologue." Konohamaru blushed and gaped at her appearance.

"Hyuga! How...what...how long were you there?!!" Konohamaru yelled embarassingly. Hanabi gave a gentle laugh.

"Just before Haruhi gave the finishing blow. I did not want to rain on her parade, so I let her do her business. If her attack failed, I'd have intervened." She then approached Konohamaru and held him up. "You will get your students stronger. I know you to be the determined one."

"Thanks Hanabi..." Konohamaru said weakly. Soon after, Hanabi took the honours of disposing of the dead body of Kawazu, if his body were to leave the country his information would be hazardous, and brought the four weakened bodies into the house to rest. Two hours later, Haruhi awoke again, to find her injuries had been cured, particlarly her deep cut, and she was on the exact same spot before her fight.

"Wow, Déjà Vu." Thought Haruhi. She got up, and explored her surroundings yet again. This time, in the corner was none other than Hanabi Hyuga. "Hanabi-Sensei?!"

"I am sorry I did not reach you in time, Haruhi." Hanabi said. "You, your friends and your Sensei are gravely injured because of me."

"Ummmm...it's okay. But I thought we defeated all of the criminal gang. Or was he some other guy?" Haruhi said.

"He was part of the gang, and their leader. He used his teammates as a diversion so he could drastically weaken your forces. More to it, he used you to show him the direction of the jeweller, so he can kill her." Hanabi explained.

"How cruel." Haruhi said.

"Yes. Not only that, you have done your team proud by defeating him." Hanabi said.

"I wouldn't have killed him if it weren't for Takai-kun and Shikari-kun." Haruhi said modestly.

"In my eyes, the one who delivers the final blow, is the one who defeated the enemy." Hanabi said. "And now that the criminals are dead, the Diamond has been successfully split." She then led Haruhi away from the room, across the corridors and into the room where the Jutsu was taking place. Inside was Kihara and Tsuji.

"Ahhhh, Haruhi-sama!" Kihara said relieved. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Where's Shikari-kun and-" Haruhi began, but was cut off by Tsuji.

"They're safe." She said. "They're asleep in the other room. They should awake in an hour's time."

"Great!" Haruhi said relieved. Hanabi then stepped forward.

"Are the diamonds complete?" She asked.

"Yes!" Kihara said formally. "There are approximately four hundred shards of the Joukai Diamond that has been cut. And the Hidden Leaf Village's equal split has been designed." While saying this, Kihara presented a small bag. Hanabi opened it's contents and Haruhi seen two of the most beautiful sights she has ever seen. In the bag were a mountain of tiny Joukai Diamonds glittering in the open sunlight, the flashes were so bright, Haruhi looked to be blinded by them. And on top of the pile of Joukai Diamonds was a small necklace, specifically, it was a small thin black rope that had a long shard of the Joukai Diamond hanging off it. Haruhi gasped in awe.

"Daddy wanted this?" Asked Haruhi holding the necklace. Hanabi took it off her and put it back in the bag carefully.

"Yes." She said. "Our mission will continue when your team awakens." She left the room, leaving the bag of Diamonds.

"Hanabi-sensei sure is strict. I kinda feel sorry for Team 10." Haruhi said quietly. In the hour, Haruhi checked upon the resting bodies of her teammates; Takai's burns were healing to show his skin once more, Shikari's wounds from the explosion were healing gradually, and Konohamaru was merely sleeping, his injuries weren't serious, but he needed to regain his Chakra from the first fight. The hour was up, and the three began to awake, much to Haruhi's relief.

"You're all okay!" She cried in happiness, giving each of them a hug.

"Easy, Haruhi." Said Konohamaru as he was being hugged.

"How are you feeling?" Haruhi asked.

"Could be better." Shikari said stretching himself.

"We better head back to the Village." Konohamaru said to his team. "We can get the Medical ninja to look over us there." The three nodded and the Team with Hanabi were saying their goodbye's to Tsuji and Kihara, after Konohamaru had given them the expenses of their services.

"We're sorry for the mess we caused." Haruhi said to the two.

"It is okay, Haruhi-sama." Kihara said with a smile. "This village has many tradesmen who are willing to repair the damages."

"Thank you for helping the Leaf Village again, Tsuji." Konohamaru said.

"It was my pleasure, Konohamaru Sarutobi." She said formally. Then the five departed back for the Hidden Leaf Village, with the large bag of Diamonds. They agreed to walk, because most of their injuries still tired their bodies, despite the healing drug.

"I would have made it back to the Village by now!" Hanabi moaned after twenty minutes of walking. She had to carry Konohamaru, because he still had some difficulty walking.

"You could've left while we were healing." Konohamaru laughed.

"Someone had to defend the jewellers from harm!" Hanabi retorted. Meanwhile, Takai was forced to be carried by Haruhi, because his wounds were the greatest out of everyone's. Briefly, he looked to Haruhi, who gave a tender smile. Then, he responded to the smile, with a small smile of his own.

The five had finally arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village, when the sun had finally set across the horizon, with just a small glow of sun saying it's last goodbye's to the sky above. They arrived in the Hokage's office, with Tsunade, Naruto and Sakura awaiting them.

"Mission accomplished!" Hanabi and Konohamaru said simultaneously, presenting the bag of Joukai Diamonds. Naruto gave a sigh of relief, but Sakura however was hugging her daughter very closely, now ensuring her safety. So much to the point that, Shikari and Takai were becoming perplexed by it.

"What's the status of the ninja gang?" Asked Tsunade.

"Defeated." Konohamaru explained. "The leader made an ambush on us in Tsuji's place, but Haruhi, with the help of her comrades, killed him." Tsunade, Naruto and Sakura gasped.

"_No way_!" Sakura thought.

"_Incredible_!" Thought Naruto.

"Well done, Team 8, and Hanabi!" Tsunade said with a smile inspecting the Diamonds. "These will be distributed to the countries by week's end." Haruhi gave a smile, knowing her C-rank mission was completed. She was even more happier, when her father gave her a smile of pride. While the five made their way for leaving, Tsunade fished out the necklace Haruhi was interested in. "Here's the necklace you wanted." She presented it to Naruto.

"Thanks, Grandma." Naruto said with gratitude.

"What do you plan to do with something as minute as a necklace?" Sakura asked. Naruto gave a smile, and looked to Haruhi, who was last out and was ready to close the door behind her.

"Haruhi! Wait a moment!" Naruto called. Haruhi popped her head back into the office.

"Yeah?" She said curiously, then went back inside. Naruto walked in front of the Hokage's desk, next to his daughter, and placed the necklace around her neck, so the small segment of diamond dangled from the centre of her torso. Haruhi was speechless with this act.

"I know this necklace will be safe in your hands. You've earned it." Naruto said with joy. Both Sakura and Tsunade gasped at this as well. But Haruhi, finally leaving her speechless mode behind, jumped up and hugged Naruto with all her strength.

"Thank you, daddy!!" She cried. Tsunade smiled to herself.

"_Naruto, even after eighteen years of knowing you, you still surprise me_."


	10. Party at the Uzumaki's!

**Party at the Uzumaki's!**

Haruhi returned home with her family, because Naruto and Sakura were working overtime to ensure Haruhi's safety, Tsukune was brought along for the ride. They entered their living area, where Haruhi had just finished telling how she defeated the evil ninja, Kawazu.

"You beat a ninja all by yourself, Haruhi nee-san?" Tsukune asked in awe.

"With a little help from my friends." Haruhi said happily.

"You're _so_ lucky nee-san!" Tsukune whined. "I wanna go on missions too!"

"Well, you'll have your chance, once you become a Genin too." Sakura said, cuddling her son. "But both of you should rest, you had a busy day."

"Okay!" Said the two children simultaneously. Night drew in faster than expected for Haruhi, as she lay on her bed, looking at the spoils of her first real mission: her blue crystalated diamond necklace. Slowly, she began to drift to sleep, letting her fatigue take over. At the same time, Naruto and Sakura rested themselves on the sofa after a hard day's work.

"I'm so glad Haruhi's safe." Sakura said in a relieved tone to her husband.

"I know." Naruto said soothingly. "I know I shouldn't have let Haruhi go. I thought she'd be strong enough to handle a mission like that." Sakura looked into Naruto's sad eyes.

"But she did in a way." Sakura said with joy in her face. "She can do the Flying Swallow, a Jutsu you wanted her to learn too." Naruto smiled back, thinking to how Haruhi did the Jutsu.

"You're right." He said happily. "We should celebrate on Haruhi's success!"

"Wha', you mean have a party?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Naruto said with inspiration. "We can invite Shikamaru, Temari, Konohamaru, and invite that black-haired kid's parents!"

"Takai?" Sakura said, confused as to who was the black-haired kid.

"Yeah!" Naruto said in anxiety. Sakura couldn't help but smile at Naruto's proposition of a party on behalf of their daughter.

"Okay! Let's do it!" Sakura said as optimistic as Naruto.

Day rolled in just as fast for Haruhi as she awoke from her slumber. Putting on her orange t-shirt and skirt, along with tying her headband to her neck, she drifted past the sleeping Tsukune and took her first deep breathe of fresh air. She felt unusually strong this very day, possibly through the adrenaline packed mission the day previous. She jogged to their designated spot as usual to meet up with Shikari and Takai, who looked to be better from their injuries.

"Hi guys!" Haruhi squeaked to her two friends.

"Yo Haruhi." Said Shikari lazily. She caught up to the two and caught her breathe.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

"Of course." Said Takai, presenting where most of his burn wounds were, which showed to be cured.

"Great!" She said in joy. Meanwhile, back at the Uzumaki residence, Konohamaru was called by Naruto the day previous.

"Party, huh?" He said in Naruto's living room, with both parents of Haruhi ready to leave for the Hokage's mansion.

"Yeah!" Naruto said happily. " It was your first C-rank together after all. Besides, I wanna meet Shikamaru's boy, and that black-haired kid."

"Takai." Konohamaru filled in. "I suppose I can get them to come after training."

"Great!" Said Sakura excitedly.

"Well, hate to be the party-pooper, but the guests of honour are waiting for me." Konohamaru said, taking his leave.

Once Konohamaru caught up with his students, they began doing normal missions again, which involved watering a small garden, finding another lost pet of an uncaring owner and rescued a kitten that was stuck up a tree. Once all those missions were accomplished, the Team, specifically Haruhi and Shikari, were back to practicing their Chakra walks up the tree. They were starting to get the hang of it, and had reached a step lower than Konohamaru and Takai's level. Haruhi got back up in determination.

"One last time!" She said, focussing her Chakra to her feet, and concentrated until all her Chakra was focussed to her lower soles. She then ran up it, to see she wasn't falling, and she reached Takai and Konohamaru's level. To further her success, she went upside down in the same manner as Konohamaru and Takai. She felt a relief befall her, as she had mastered being able to walk on impossible surfaces. At the same time, Shikari had joined them, and he too felt relief spread through his body.

"Excellent, you two!" Konohamaru cheered. "But can you do it in battle?" He jumped down and walked to the forest. Unspeakingly, they followed into the deep parts of the forest. "We're gonna have a sparring match on the treetops. Using your Jutsu you two learned and your Taijutsu, you're gonna fight up there. If anyone falls onto the ground, they lose. It's a free-for-all, so don't rely on your friends. Got it?" The three Genin nodded.

"This should be fun!" Thought Haruhi in joy.

"This'll be a drag." Thought Shikari lazily.

"This will end quickly!" Thought Takai with focus. Then Konohamaru waved his hand forward.

"Alright, go!" He called. Takai responded immediately, by climbing the tree nearest him and prepared for combat. Haruhi and Shikari did the same. Finding her focus, she was able to climb her tree successfully, then jumped to Takai's tree and they prepared for battle.

"Ready to lose?" Haruhi said confidently. Takai remained silent. Then the two fought. Takai was throwing punch after kick for Haruhi, but she blocked and dodged them, then she went on the offensive, and attacked with punches, since she didn't want to lose her balance with kicks. Takai blocked them all, and caught Haruhi's fist during one punch, and kicked her with the intention of knocking her out of the contest. But she forced her feet to a tree and stood from it.

"That was close!" Thought Haruhi. But unknown to her, Shikari had jumped to her tree and charged downwards for her. She managed to block a punch from him, but when Shikari jumped back, she realised she was caught in his Shadow Possession.

"Heh! You're mine now!" Shikari said confidently. Slowly, he began walking backwards up the tree, while Haruhi mimicked him, walking backwards down the tree.

"Not good!!" Haruhi said in worry. Her feet were mere inches from the ground now, as Shikari forced her feet down. But suddenly, the tree began to fall over. Shikari was confused and seen Takai using his Fireball Jutsu to burn the roots of the tree. The tree collapsed, with the Shadow Possession broken, and Haruhi and Shikari falling to the undergrowth in defeat.

"Takai wins." Konohamaru said in pleasure at the fight. Shikari and Haruhi sighed, while Takai simply smirked. "You guys have gotten good. I think tomorrow we'll get to the real training. You'll all learn Jutsu I think you'll be accustomed to." Haruhi and Shikari left their saddened spirits behind and gasped in wonder. "But that's 'till tomorrow."

"If this is our training session finished, I will go." Takai said in his still focussed face.

"Yeah, see you guys tomorrow." Shikari said preparing to leave.

"Hold on!" Konohamaru commanded. The team froze from their separation and looked towards their Sensei. "I've got a little treat for you."

"A treat?" Asked Haruhi.

"Yeah, c'mon, me and Haruhi's parents have prepared something nice." Konohamaru said with a smile, walking away towards the path.

"Mom and dad?" Thought Haruhi. Nonetheless, she followed.

"I'm not into treats, but, might as well." Shikari said, following Haruhi. Takai stayed put, looking towards his teammates. With a sigh, he walked in their direction.

The team walked the path Haruhi took to go home, with Haruhi ever thinking what Konohamaru and her parents were planning. It wasn't long before the team arrived at Haruhi's house.

"Jeez, Haruhi, you've got quite the house!" Shikari said with a moan. Haruhi smiled.

"Thanks." She said modestly. The four entered around the house, to enter Haruhi's back garden. What the three seen stunned them, while Konohamaru gave a smirk.

"Man, Sempai, when you host a party, you sure know how to throw one." He said to himself. The back garden of Haruhi's, which was often her own private training ground, was decorated in high fashion. Paper lamps were spread across threads which were connected from the house to the two trees at the end, illuminating the gardens beautifully; many tables were spread out across the garden, with many assorted foods, including ramen, scattered across each table; and the people already making the most of the party were Naruto, Sakura, Tsukune, and Shikari's father: Shikamaru and Shikari's mother, who Haruhi seen to have short hair focussed into four separate bunches, a very elegant posture, with a very strong face; Haruhi shivvered with the knowledge she was Shikari's mother. Along with the guests, each of them wore their stylish clothes, Sakura wore a long red dress and wooden sandals, Naruto wore a pure black coat similar to his Sage robe with his headband off, and Tsukune wore a small white short sleeved shirt and black shorts. The five noticed them immediately, giving a small cheer, and some raised a small cup of sake.

"M-Mom? Dad? You made us a party?" Haruhi asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah." Naruto said in pride. "You did complete that C-rank mission, even when the chips were down. We gotta at least celebrate." Haruhi still feeling surprise, smiled happily at what her parents had done for her. They didn't need a reason to wait no longer and proceeded with the party with the four guests of honour present. Before they begun, Haruhi, Shikari, Takai and Konohamaru went inside, to change into their formal attire. Thankfully, Naruto and Sakura prepared them with equally stylish clothes. Haruhi came last in dressing herself, but to everyone's eyes, she was the most beautiful. She walked back outside, wearing an orange sleeve-less dress that came to her knees, and her hair was curled up into a bun. Shikari, who was dressed in a blue kimono with wooden sandals and his hair down from his ponytail, was quick to notice, and blushed at her appearance. Takai wore a black kimono while Konohamaru wore brown.

"You look beautiful, Haruhi." Her father said. She gave a smile at her appearance. And so the party commenced. Haruhi couldn't see where to begin, what with the food, stopping her little brother devouring all of it, or meet up with her friends. Until, someone came beside her. Haruhi looked round to see Shikari's mother, standing before her. She held in her hands a sake glass, swirling it around so posh-like.

"Nice night, huh?" She said with a smile.

"Oh, you're Shikari-kun's mother, right?" Asked Haruhi.

"That's right. Temari Nara's the name." She said, now calling herself Temari.

"Shikari-kun said you're from a different village?" Haruhi said in question. Temari smiled.

"Of course, you wouldn't see a beautiful woman like me here if I weren't originally from here." She said jokingly. "I came from the Hidden Sand Village in the Wind Country."

"Hidden Sand Village?" Asked Haruhi in wonder.

"Yeah. In a nutshell, just like this Village's surrounded by leaves from trees, the Hidden Sand is in the middle of a desert." Temari explained. "Oh, and one other note, my father was the Fourth Kazekage." Haruhi gaped suddenly. She knew of the Kage system, and that her father would soon be a Kage.

"Your father was a Kage?!" Exclaimed Haruhi in such shock. Temari gave a grin.

"To make it better, my little brother is the present Kazekage." Temari said. Haruhi gaped again. In knowing this, she couldn't help throwing a small glance at Tsukune.

"B-But that means..." Haruhi stuttered with surprise.

"Yup, we're not so different, you and I." Temari said, and took a sip from her small cup of sake.

"But why did you come to the Leaf Village?" Asked Haruhi in question. "Surely if your family is a Kazekage line-up, the Leaf Village is the last place you would want to be, right?"

"Hm, you'd think so. But surely you think the fame is a bit much, right?" Asked Temari. Haruhi thought of the times when she was praised because she was the daughter of Naruto, and nodded in agreement. "But that wasn't the only reason. It's 'cus I love that knucklehead of a Nara." Said Temari with a grin while staring at her husband, Shikamaru. Haruhi gave a small smile too.

"Hey, Temari!" Called Shikamaru from his discussion with the other men of the party. "C'mon over. We need your opinion on somethin'."

"Coming, dear!" Temari yelled over. She then looked over to Haruhi. "Nice talking to you, daughter of the Hokage." Then she strolled over to her husband, already feeling the effects of the alcohol she drank.

"Nice talking to you, daughter of the Kazekage." She said to herself. Haruhi then strolled over to the food and fed herself some ramen. It was nice having a bowl of ramen after a hard day's work, especially with mastering her ability to walk up vertical axises. While she ate, she spotted Takai, leaning against the tree she would use as Kunai practice, watching the party progress. She waltzed over to the handsome-looking Takai.

"You not joining in?" Asked Haruhi innocently. Takai shifted her a look.

"I've never been to a party before. This is my first one." He said while still looking at the party members. Haruhi looked across the party in search of Takai's parents, but all that were seen were the people she knew.

"Hey, where's your parents? Couldn't they come?" Asked Haruhi. Takai looked at Haruhi through the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, I couldn't find them." Crept a familiar voice from behind the two. Haruhi jumped to see her father behind them, poking his head between them.

"Daddy!! You don't creep up on people like that!!" Yelled Haruhi still in fright of her father's sudden appearance.

"Sorry." Said Naruto. "But where are your parents, kid?"

"Takai." He reminded him. "You would have a hard time finding them, Hokage-sama."

"Heh-he, I'm not Hokage yet." Naruto said with a smile. "So why won't I find them?" Takai gave a small sigh, further ncreasing both Naruto and Haruhi's need to know a piece about Takai.

"Because they are dead." Takai said in a low voice. Haruhi gave a gasp while covering her mouth, while Naruto gaped in surprise.

"Takai-kun." Haruhi whispered in horror of Takai's past.

"How did they die?" Asked Naruto with a serious look.

"It doesn't matter." Takai said. "They died while I was a child, and that's all there is to it."

"Takai-kun..." Haruhi said, but before she could make a move to comfort him, Naruto blocked her path.

"It's okay, Haruhi. We'll give him his peace." Naruto said to his daughter. Haruhi gave a pout as she and her father walked away from Takai.

"Haruhi!" Called Takai suddenly. Naruto continued, while Haruhi spun around to see Takai again.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"You look nice." Takai said with his low voice still on. Haruhi blushed at his compliment.

"Thank you."

It came to around half way past the celebrations. The two mothers, Sakura and Temari were gossiping over motherly issues. Naruto, Konohamaru and Shikamaru were joking over missions they went on that proved to be hilarious to each other. While Haruhi and Shikari were discussing matters over Takai.

"I dunno why he's so grouchy!" Whined Shikari. "Yeah, he's a good fighter, but he can at least open up every now and then."

"His parents died Shikari-kun. Maybe he saw them dying and went all dark and mysterious after that." Haruhi predicted. Shikari gave a sigh.

"I dunno. I'm a battle analyst, not a mind reader." Shikari whined again. Haruhi gave a small glance over to Takai, who hasn't moved since Naruto and her's meeting with him.

"He's such a mystery." Haruhi said to herself.

"Alright!" Yelled an enthusiastic Naruto from the centre of the garden party. This drew the attention of everyone, including Takai. "We're gonna have ourselves a little entertainment! A contest of who's the best ninja around here!" This got everyone muttering to themselves.

"Great idea, Naruto." Said Sakura with a gentle smile.

"Okay! There's nine of us here, so six can play, while three can give scores!" Announced Naruto. "Since I'm clearly the best around here, I'll sit this one out." On saying this, everyone gave a laugh, knowing the extent of Naruto's powers. Naruto took a chair and sat by a blank table not covered in food.

"You can count me out too." Said Shikari.

"Are you too tired or something?" Asked Haruhi.

"Nah, it's too much of a drag in these clothes." He replied Shikari took another chair and sat down on the far side of the table. Sakura approached her youngest child Tsukune.

"Tsukune, want to join daddy in giving out scores?" Asked Sakura kindly. Tsukune pouted.

"But I wanna go and show everyone how strong I am!" He said while crossing his arms. Naruto, despite his arguements, lifted Tsukune up, and placed him on a chair in the middle.

"You'll have your day soon, son." Naruto said cheerfully. Tsukune continued to pout. "Okay, all the rest of you, line up!" Haruhi, Sakura, Konohamaru, Temari and Shikamaru all got into formation. Surprisingly, Takai appeared beside Haruhi.

"You're joining too?" Asked Haruhi.

"Of course, Haruhi." Takai said. "I never back down from challenges of skill." Haruhi smiled at this.

"The rules are..." Started Naruto. "You each perform your own Ninjutsu, of your choice, to destroy these six targets, for one each." While saying this, he presented six bulls-eye targets. "Once done, me, Tsukune and Shikari will score out of ten how it did. The one with the most points is the winner and be named champion."

"As if I'm gonna lose." Shikamaru said dully.

"I'll be the one winning today!" Said Haruhi with confidence. Naruto gave a smile at Haruhi's confidence.

"Okay, Haruhi, you first." Naruto said. Haruhi cheered at her being first. She faced one target and performed a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She called. A clone appeared directly beside her, amazing Tsukune. Haruhi opened her palm, and the Clone prepared a Rasengan ball. Sakura gasped, but Naruto didn't intervene. Haruhi charged for the target with her Jutsu ready. "Rasengan!" She called, plunging it into the target, shattering it to pieces. She gave a small pant, and her hair was slightly loosened from her hair bun. Everyone clapped. Checking over to her teammate, brother and father, she was ready to hear their scores.

"Seven!" Called Shikari.

"Ten!" Called Tsukune with a smile.

"Seven." Said her father with a smile. She walked off with her score of 24. While she waltzed towards the others, Naruto gave a glance to her. "She's getting better at Rasengan. Even though I told her not to do it, she's overcoming her Chakra loss." While she stretched herself in showing off her Rasengan, NAruto smiled. "That's my girl." Suddenly, Shikamaru stepped forth.

"I'm next!" He said. He performed a series of hand signs and kneeled down. "Shadow Dragon Jutsu!" Haruhi then noticed Shikamaru's shadow began moving on it's own, similar to Shikari's Shadow Possession. But what stunned her the most, was Shikamaru's shadow rose from the ground, and took the form of a giant dragon. The dragon charged for the target and hacked away at it with it's shadow-like fangs, ripping it to ribbons. Once it was given it's task, the dragon faded away, back into Shikamaru's shadow.

"Wh-what was that?!" Haruhi whispered in astonishment. Sakura stepped beside her daughter.

"It's the development of the Nara Clan's secret Jutsu, Haruhi. In most cases, Shadow Possession isn't good for attacking, and unless a partner is with you, the Naras can't do much offence. So, Shikamaru's developed Jutsus that can bring his Shadows alive and cause serious damage." Sakura explained to Haruhi. Shikamaru faced the three scorers.

"Two." Yawned Shikari. Haruhi gaped in shock. "I seen that Jutsu loads of times, it's gettin' old." Shikamaru smirked at his son's honesty, and raised an eyebrow, seeing Tsukune, cuddling into his father for dear life.

"That was too scary! One!" He said in fright. Shikamaru sighed.

"What a drag..." He said.

"If it's any help, you get a ten from me." Naruto said with a laugh.

"Only from you, Naruto." Shikamaru remarked. Temari stood forward, and swiftly, without a hand sign, smacked her hands together, causing a large surge of wind, slicing her target to five equal slices.

"Whoa!" Haruhi gasped. "She really is a Kazekage's daughter!" The three gave her a twenty six, since they decided that it didn't last long. Haruhi folded her arms in anger, since it was impossible for her to win, now that Temari has a high score. Takai approached next.

"Be prepared, everyone." He said in his low voice and prepared several hand signs. "Fire-Style - Prison of Flames!" Then opening his two palms, the target was engulfed in a fiery sphere that heated the entire garden. Haruhi was impressed with this Jutsu, giving a small gasp.

"Incredible." Thought Konohamaru. "He isn't a master of Ninjutsu for nothing then." Then, the fire died away, and all that remained was the three stands for the target.

"Eight." Shikari said dully. Takai gave a snort towards him.

"Ten!" Squeaked Tsukune.

"Ten." Naruto smiled. With twenty eight, Takai gave a victory smile. However, Konohamaru approached next, with a large smirk on his face.

"Time to turn up the heat!" He said confidently. Then, forming a variety of hand signs, he readied a Jutsu. "Earth-Style - Six Column Prison!" He then placed his hands on the ground, forcing a six lumps of rock to form around the target from the ground, and coil itself around the target. Then, he used another hand seal combination. "Fire-Style - Incinerating Wave!" Fire raged around his right arm, and he waved it towards the bound target. Three seconds later, the target dissolved into ash from the middle in a diagonal fashion. Haruhi was beyond amazement.

"Way to go, Sensei!" She cheered. He faced Shikari, Tsukune and Naruto.

"Nine." Said Shikari dully.

"Ten!" Cheered Tsukune in a cute fashion.

"Ten." Naruto said with a grin. Konohamaru waved a clenched hand in victory. Twenty nine was his score, defeating Haruhi, Takai, Shikamaru and Temari, and Sakura was yet to perform.

"Well, looks like I'm up." Said Sakura with a smile. "Get used to that first place spot, Konohamaru-kun, because this competition is mine!" Haruhi's attention was all on her mother's Jutsu. She performed three hand seals, and clenched her fist as tight as she can, forming a great deal of Chakra into it. Haruhi seen her mother's face, to be completely focussed. Then, looking at her target, she charged forwards, and stopped a few yards away from the target.

"Kensei Sentou!!!"

To Haruhi, it looked as though Sakura's fist was yards away from the target. But, the Chakra in Sakura's fist was released and fired the rest of the way to the target, completely destroying it. Smoke built in Sakura's path, as she gave a small pant, showing she had completely destroyed the target.

"Ten!" The three scorers said in unison. Konohamaru scratched his head in shame at the defeat from his teacher's wife. Haruhi hugged Sakura at her victory, even Tsukune hugged her.

"Mom, that was incredible!" Haruhi cheered. Sakura then looked over to Naruto, who gave her a thumbs-up, instantly raising a smile from her. After their small competition, the party was nearing it's end. The Naras went their own path, with Haruhi giving a farewell to Shikari, and Konohamaru gave a farewell to Naruto and Haruhi. All that was left of the guests was Takai.

"I will see you tomorrow, Haruhi." He said, about to go his own way. But before he could, Naruto stopped him.

"Mind if I walk you home?" He asked.

"Oh, no you don't!" Called Sakura. "That's just a petty excuse to skip cleaning!" But at that, many Narutos appeared, ready for cleaning.

"I suppose." Takai said. Before they went, Haruhi looked in confusion to her father. The two roamed the streets of the Hidden Leaf to Takai's lodgings.

"We're both the same, y'know." Naruto said. Takai looked to him.

"How so?" He asked.

"We're both orphans. We were left to fend for ourselves. And I'm sure you feel alone and lost." Naruto explained. Takai looked away.

"A little." He murmured.

"But don't feel that way, Takai." Naruto said. "You have friends that care for you, Haruhi especially."

"I have never been one to appreciate friends." Takai said, without a hint of remorse for his own statement.

"You remind me so much of a friend of mine." Naruto said in a nostalgic way.

"In what way?" Takai replied.

"Many ways." Naruto said. "It's a pity you couldn't meet. You two'd get along perfectly." Naruto raised a hearty smile. But Takai remained gloom.

"If only you knew, Hokage-sama." Thought Takai to himself.

Haruhi slept soundly that night, from all the energy she spent at the party. But somehow, a shadow loomed over her, on why Naruto had asked Takai for a walk. And more importantly, what Jutsu did Konohamaru want to teach her the next day...


	11. Perfecting Rasengan Haruhi's Resolve!

**Perfecting Rasengan - Haruhi's Resolve!**

Haruhi awoke the next day feeling somewhat refreshed. She gave a long stretch and a loud yawn, starting a brand new day. Her excitement was her prime concern that morning, because her Sensei will be teaching her a new Jutsu. After she ate her breakfast, she ran to the bridge above the lake to meet Takai and Shikari, just as energetic as herself, on the exception of Shikari, because of his laziness.

"Hey, Haruhi." Called Shikari.

"Hi!" She replied. "Enjoy the party?"

"It was good. Your mom kicked Sensei's butt, huh?" Shikari replied with a grin. Haruhi grinned too, remembering her mother, Sakura's Jutsu called "Kensei Sentou", which beat Konohamaru's Fire Jutsu.

"Sensei was holding back." Takai said, joining the conversation. Haruhi looked at Takai in confusion.

"What makes you say that?" Asked Haruhi. Takai paused, seemingly trying to find an answer.

"Intuition..." Takai finally said. Soon after, Konohamaru arrived at the bridge.

"So we going on missions?" Asked Shikari.

"Nope." Konohamaru said. This raised a question mark on Haruhi's head. "Like I said, you'll each be learning a new Jutsu. I think the other Teams will handle the less-important stuff. You up for it?" The three nodded in determination. "Alright, let's go!" Konohamaru led the way to the training grounds of the meadow. It was just as quiet, so training will be no problem. "Alright, Team, it's gonna be difficult for me to teach three at a time, so..." He then formed a hand seal, and two Clones of himself appeared. "You'll be taught through clones. You'll also be training alone this time, that way I can fully focus on one."

"What?!" Haruhi whined. "But I wanna see what Takai-kun and Shikari-kun will be learning!"

"Sorry, Haruhi. It's hard juggling between three kids." Her Sensei replied. At once, Haruhi fumed.

"Oh well, later." Shikari said, as a Clone and himself went into a different section of the meadow.

"C'mon Haruhi, the forest is our element with your Jutsu." Said the real Konohamaru. Haruhi followed her Sensei as the clone and Takai remained alone.

Haruhi and Konohamaru found a quiet spot in the forest, with many trees surrounding them, and near them was a small river.

"Okay, Haruhi. First, name me your strongest Jutsu." Konohamaru started.

"That's easy, Rasengan." Haruhi said.

"Do you have full confidence in it?"

"Well...not exactly..."

"Why not?"

"B-Because everytime I use it, my body gets tired. Like if I ran a mile."

"Do you know why that is?"

"N-No..."

"For someone who can so easily name her strongest Jutsu, you don't know much about it, do you?" Haruhi gaped and grew mad.

"I do!" She yelled. "Besides, why are you asking me these stupid questions? Aren't we supposed to be learning a new Jutsu besides Rasengan?" Konohamaru paused.

"You haven't learned Rasengan, Haruhi." Konohamaru said. "Not _fully_ at least."

"What? I've done it before, I can do it!"

"Calm down, Haruhi." Haruhi got back to her senses and sighed. "What I am trying to say is, Rasengan isn't a Jutsu you use with three hands, also, it's not meant to tire you out as much. What I am about to teach you is the Rasengan the Fourth Hokage intended it, as a one-handed Jutsu without wasting your body as much." Haruhi paused for a moment.

"You're gonna teach me Rasengan?" Haruhi asked with glee. "How? All the times I've tried using it, I can't handle the strain afterwards."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were self-taught Rasengan, am I right?" Haruhi thought back to the night when she learned Rasengan, nobody taught it to her, she only practiced what her father showed her.

"Y-Yeah..." Haruhi mumbled in embarassment.

"Well then, you don't know how Rasengan fully works. You think it's just a spinning ball of Chakra that's meant to wipe out an opponent in one hit, right?"

"Well, isn't it?"

"It is. But there's more to it than that. Because you think this way, you force all your Chakra out to make the Rasengan look like a Rasengan, and therefore you lose all your Chakra."

"Then what should I do?"

"You're going to learn Rasengan from the beginning, just as I was taught it." Haruhi widened her eyes in amazement. "But first, we gotta know the basics of Rasengan."

"It can't be all that hard, right?" Asked Haruhi with her arms folded. Then, Konohamaru took a piece of paper from his flak jacket pocket. Then, began to scribble some anagrams onto it. Then, he presented the anagrams to Haruhi.

"Learning Rasengan can be split into three separate steps. The first is having good Chakra control to rotate your Chakra." He pointed towards one picture, showing a circle with two arrows curved around it. Then, he took away the piece of paper and presented two small uninflated balloons. Taking it to the river nearby, he filled both up so they became round and filled with water, and finally handed one to Haruhi. "I want you to burst this balloon using your Chakra."

"How do I do that?" Asked Haruhi.

"Use your Chakra to rotate the water until it eventually spills. Here's a demonstration." Konohamaru took the balloon into his palm, and focussed hard on it. Then the balloon began to shift and stroll and then, burst, sending water all over Konohamaru's hand. Haruhi then smiled.

"Piece of cake!" She cheered. She put down the balloon breifly and was about to form a hand seal. Before she could, Konohamaru grabbed her wrist.

"It's best if you don't use Shadow Clones. The more you rely on them for the Rasengan build up, the more dependant you'll become of them. Your father realised this the hard way, and you shouldn't go through the same." Haruhi understanding Konohamaru's point, lowered her hands as he loosened his grip. Then, she picked up her balloon and placed it on her hand.

"_Rotate the water using my Chakra...easier said than done. It's not easy without Shadow Clones_." Haruhi thought as she tried to make the balloon burst like Konohamaru did. She tried to force her Chakra to rotate, but without her Shadow Clones, she couldn't do it as effectively. Then, after two or three minutes of trying to do it, she eventually lost her focus and took deep breathes.

"What's the deal?! Asked Haruhi annoyingly.

"You've done Rasengan before, right?" Asked Konohamaru.

"Yeah, but without a Clone, I can't do it."

"Remember, Haruhi. You are the Clone. Do as your Clone would and you'll burst the balloon." Haruhi took in what her Sensei just said, finally making sense from it, and smiled in determination.

"Alright! She said with resolve. She envisioned the balloon as a Rasengan ball, herself the Clone spiralling the ball, and focussing hard on rotating the Rasengan ball, she let her Chakra spiral. She could feel the water become a symphony towards her Chakra movemets. Her Chakra began to spiral out of control and attempting to break the balloon's rubber surface as the balloon began to push and tug with Haruhi's Chakra flow. And suddenly, the balloon popped, giving Haruhi a natural fright as her hand became drenched in water. Konohamaru grinned.

"Very good, Haruhi." He applauded.

"But that was a bit too easy, Sensei!" Haruhi said rather disappointed. "Mostly it took about four times the Chakra and time needed to make it better."

"That's exactly your problem, Haruhi. You have excellent Chakra control, after your mother." At that, Haruhi blushed in modesty. "But because you didn't know this step needed for Rasengan, you overestimated it's necessities. What you did there was the minimum requirement needed for a Rasengan Chakra rotation." Haruhi looked to her hands and paused for a moment.

"It was that easy?" She whispered. Then she heard Konohamaru clap his hands in a motivational manner.

"Now for step two. This won't be as easy as step one." Konohamaru took the anagram sheet and pointed to a different anagram with the same ball, only with two fists on either side of it. "The power of your Chakra. In this step, you're to do the same thing as step one, only..." Then he took out a palm-sized rubber ball. "...With this." Haruhi looked in confusion.

"How am I meant to burst that?!" Haruhi screamed in annoyance.

"By making your Chakra denser. For example." He took another ball from his flak jacket pocket and placed it on his palm. He focussed breifly and the ball exploded. The force of the explosion, added with the fright, knocked Haruhi onto her backside. "Now it's your turn." He said this and threw Haruhi the first ball, which landed on her lap. She did the same before, placing the ball on her palm and focussed everything she had on the ball, envisioning it as Rasengan. It took a minute or two later, that she had to stop for breathe.

"The-The balls too strong..." She said in exhaustion.

"Plus it's harder to circulate air." Konohamaru added. "Try it again, this time put more momentum into your Chakra." And after regaining her breathe, she focussed even harder on bursting the ball. Minutes turned into hours for Haruhi and this lesson. The attempts she had in bursting the ball grew beyond count, and she became ever more determined to make it burst.

It wasn't until later that Haruhi had completely lost her will power to destroying the ball. It was now sunset, and Haruhi had spent the vast majority of her training trying to master part two. Now on her knees, she was completely drained of Chakra and exhausted beyond comprehension. Konohamaru passed the time by reading his favourite pastime magazine, and only stopped to look at Haruhi.

"Anything?" He asked. After a few pants, Haruhi responded.

"Nothing...not even a budge."

"I think that's what senpai meant when he said your Rasengan was "_too weak to kill_."" Haruhi thought to the time Naruto made her promise not to use it again, mainly because it was too weak and not worth all that effort. And at once, she thought of the time when Haruhi first used Rasengan successfully. She felt a wave of the same emotions on that day. Now regaining her confidence, she stood up with the ball.

"One last time!" Haruhi said in resolve. Before she could, Konohamaru grabbed her wrist.

"You're too tired, any more and you'll be dragged home, like last time." Konohamaru said sternly.

"Sensei! I know what I need to do! If I don't do this right here, right now, I'll never get this done." Konohamaru paused, and reluctantly, let Haruhi's hand slide away from his grasp.

"Alright. But one last time. If you can't do it then, you're going home, no if's and but's, agreed?" Haruhi then nodded.

"Agreed." And once again, she set off to bursting the ball. "All my strongest Rasengans up until now were filled with resolve of some kind. When I first did Rasengan, it weakened that ninja because it was filled with the resolve to protect daddy. It clashed on par with Sensei's Rasengan because it was filled with the resolve to protect Takai-kun." At that time, the ball started emitting a royal blue glow. Konohamaru raised an eyebrow from this. "My resolve is to one day become as strong as daddy, and one day become a Hokage like him. And by learning Rasengan, I'll prove I can one day do it!" The blue glow suddenly became brighter and brighter, until suddenly, there came a loud bang, and the ball released a giant maelstrom of released air, knocking Konohamaru off guard, sending his magazine flying from his hands, as well as amazing him. The current of released air was so powerful, that Shikari and Takai raised their heads in confusion of it's origins. Once the dust had settled around Haruhi, she stood there, with her hands crumbling the remains of the ball, and she was panting less violently than last time.

"Haruhi...you've mastered Rotation and Strength in one day...As far as I've heard from senpai, it took him a while to master the two separately." Konohamaru then seen Haruhi's hand, which seen to have very deep burn marks. "And that Chakra power, it's almost as good as senpai's." He paused to see Haruhi give a smile over to him. "senpai, you better watch out. Haruhi's fast on your tail." Haruhi then reunited with her Sensei.

"How was that? Did I do it okay?" She asked innocently.

"You did better than I imagined." Haruhi gave a happy smile. "Do you have much Chakra left?"

"Mmm, yes. Why?"

"Do a Rasengan with the methods you learned today, and attack that tree." Konohamaru said while pointing to the nearest tree. Haruhi looked at it, then to her Sensei.

"I'll try." She got into a stance and opened her palm. Haruhi tensioned, and tried to focus the Chakra needed for her Rasengan. It rotated violently with it's power at maximum and giving a royal blue glow, contrary to most Rasengan's which glowed bright then she charged with her glowing Chakra ball. "Rasengan!" She sunk the uncontrolled Rasengan into the tree, and bark began to fly uncontrollably away from it's epicentre. Haruhi lifted her hand, to see a large circular hole engraved into the tree. Konohamaru was bewildered by this sight.

"How do you feel? Tired?" Konohamaru asked. Haruhi looked all around her body.

"N-No...my body's exhausted from the training, but that was there before that Rasengan." She said in awe. "Does that mean I've learned it?!"

"Hold on, we gotta learn step three. But that's for tomorrow. Now go on over to Takai and Shikari, they must be waiting for us now."

"Okay." She said happily. As she walked off, Konohamaru remained behind, looking at the miniature hole Haruhi caused. Breiefly, he charged an uncontrolled Rasengan and launched it into a different tree. The results were unlike Haruhi's. Compared to Haruhi's, Konohamaru's didn't make a full hole, only making several round scratches to it, and didn't get very far as Haruhi's.

"Man, senpai, Sakura, what deadly combination have you brought to us?" Konohamaru asked. "Is Haruhi's resolve that great?" At that, Konohamaru gave a small peaceful smile. "I can't wait to see it once it's finished."

Haruhi returned to her friends, Takai and Shikari, and they were seen to be rather beaten up.

"Hey, Shikari-kun, Takai-kun!" Haruhi cheered. "How was your training?" Shikari groaned.

"Sensei sure is tough. I haven't even nailed the basics of what he's teaching me." Shikari said in a tired state.

"I have difficulties what Sensei is teaching me as well." Takai said, rather crestfallen at this statement. Before Haruhi could gloat at what she learned today, Konohamaru approached.

"Today is just one day. As I told you, we'll be working in your own pace, until you are all ready to become excellent ninja." Konohamaru announced. "You're dismissed for now. But tomorrow, we'll be picking up where we left off, okay?"

"Okay." The three Genin said in unison, and finally parting ways.

Haruhi lay on her bed that night, once her mother finished scolding her for injuring herself during training, thinking of the training she just did mere hours ago. Without thinking, she hid under her blankets and opened her palm and attempted her Rasengan. She did it perfectly, up until the point where she had to make it into a ball, to which it immediately vanished into thin air.

"Not quite there yet." Whispered Haruhi. Then she heard a soft yawn coming from a distance away. She revealed herself from her blankets to see Tsukune yawn and rub his eyes.

"Nee-san, did you say something?" He asked in a cute tone.

"N-No, I didn't say anything, Tsukune." Haruhi said rather embarrassingly.

"Well, good night, nee-san." He said before cuddling into his blankets and falling asleep. Haruhi, couldn't help but giggle at Tsukune's rather cute look when sleeping.

"Good night, Tsukune."


	12. The Final Steps

**The Final Steps! **

Konohamaru and Haruhi arrived in the same spot for training before they called it a day. Her hand was nearly healed thanks to her mother's healing Jutsu and the Rasengan-hole Haruhi caused was the sleeping grounds of a small squirell.

"Okay, Haruhi, we're making very good progress with Rasengan. Before long, you'll be ready to begin forming all three stages together." Konohamaru said with excitement, but Haruhi's proved to be the better.

"So what kinda ball you want me popping this time." Haruhi asked jumping to the main conclusion.

"Hold on, first we gotta summarize what you learned so far." Konohamaru started. "Okay, you learned step one, which focussed on mastering how to rotate your Chakra. You mastered step two, which focussed on making your Chakra stronger and denser. You've mastered all the steps thus far, but now you move on to step three: Control."

"C-Control?" Asked Haruhi. Konohamaru presented the anagram sheet once more, showing another circle with four arrows pointing towards it.

"The Rasengan must be focussed into a ball in order for it's full effects to be met. To do this..." Konohamaru then presented another unfilled balloon, until he filled it with air from his mouth, making it palm-sized, round and full of air. "...you must use this."

"What do I do with it?" Asked Haruhi while taking hold of the balloon.

"You need to repeat steps one and two, except you must control your Chakra to stay in the balloon instead of bursting it." Konohamaru explained. "If you can keep the balloon stable for at least ten minutes, you've passed step three." Haruhi smiled.

"Easy!" She said with determination. Placing the balloon on her palm, she focussed a Rasengan ball in the sphere, but upon doing this, the balloon exploded immediately. "What?!" On seeing this, Konohamaru sniggered uncontrollably, making Haruhi pout with anger.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Haruhi, but you just made it so funny for yourself." Konohamaru said through his now controlled laughter.

"Hah-hah-hah, very funny, Sensei." Haruhi said with sarcasm.

"You're too used to steps one and two to be bursting the balloons. Try it again." Then, Konohamaru handed her a small bag of balloons. After filling up another balloon with air, she tried again. Finding her focus, she began to swirl her Chakra in her hand once more, but to her dismay, it burst yet again.

Shikari, on the other hand, was doing worse with his training. Him and Konohamaru's Clone were in one part of the meadow, now training with a Jutsu unheard of by the Nara clan. Unfortunately, Shikari collapsed to the ground in exhaustion through the Chakra consumed with his new Jutsu.

"You're doing good, Shikari!" The Clone of Konohamaru said in motivation. "Try it again, this time, use less Chakra!" Shikari rose from his tired state.

"Easier said than done...this is a total drag!" Shikari whined, before unwinded a small long scroll.

Takai on the other hand was coping well with his new Jutsu. He stood with a small circle of fire raging around him.

"Good, but show more control Takai. If you use this Jutsu in the Leaf Village, who knows what you'll end up destroying." Konohamaru announced.

"This Jutsu...it's unreal..." Takai thought with amazement, before performing the hand seals one more time for it.

It came to noon for Haruhi and she was nowhere near ready for completing step three. Her longest time was four seconds, a hundred miles away from her target of ten minutes.

"_There's...gotta be a method behind it.._." Thought Haruhi. At that, Konohamaru approached, after watching Haruhi do it for the fiftieth time.

"I think I know what your problem is, Haruhi." Konohamaru said. "Try your Rasengan without the balloon." Unquestionably, she focussed her Chakra to her palm, which formed an uncontrolled sphere immediately. "Mhm, you start off as an uncontrolled Rasengan. You should begin with a small amount of Chakra and slowly build it up into the Rasengan."

"But...there's too much concentration...to do both steps without bursting it." Haruhi said rather tired.

"Watch how I do it." Konohamaru said, and showing his palm, he built up a small amount of Chakra and slowly, it grew to the size of a regular Rasengan. "Now you try it." Haruhi nodded, trying to gain her composture. She opened her palm, and focussed a small amount of Chakra that grew into her regular size.

"_She really does have excellent Chakra control_." Konohamaru thought.

"Now try it again with the balloon." Konohamaru instructed. She tried it again, with the method shown to her. Haruhi counted down the seconds.

"_One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight-"_ And the balloon burst. Haruhi cursed to herself and stamped her foot to the ground.

"It's okay, Haruhi. You just need to get your Rasengan to the right size, and master it." Konohamaru explained. Haruhi tried again to master it, this time putting forth all her focus on keeping the balloon stable with her Rasengan wildly raging inside it. Sixteen seconds later, it burst yet again.

"The time keeps doubling?" Haruhi said, finally noticing the trend.

"That's because you're getting better at it." Konohamaru said. "You just need to master holding the Rasengan into it's sphere form for long periods of time." Just then, Konohamaru noticed a shadow creeping in the trees above them. He was alarmed at first, but grew a smile. "We'll take a small break. Take this time to regain your Chakra."

"O-Okay!" Haruhi said before resting herself on a tree trunk. Konohamaru then walked behind a bush, out of Haruhi's sight.

"You really need to practice your stealth, Maruya." Konohamaru said easily. Before it seemed like he was talking to himself, a woman wearing a grey torso armour and arm guards, and also wore a white cat mask with the distuinguishable ears and whiskers, and on her shoulder was the tattoo of the ANBU Black Ops. "If you really are a member of the ANBU Black Ops, you really need to make yourself less visible."

"You got me then?" Asked the girl named Maruya, with a tone of embarassment.

"That's obvious. You can take your mask off. It's just us." With that, the girl removed her white cat mask secluding her facial features. Maruya beneath the mask had a very beautiful face wih long black hair and looked to be at her early twenties. "Anyway, why are you out here? Shouldn't you be off trying to assassinate a ninja or something?"

"I wanted to visit Sensei's daughter." Maruya said, peering across to Haruhi.

"Oh yeah, you used to be Sakura's student." Konohamaru said with a hint of nostalgia. "Well, as you can see, she's learning her father's Jutsu."

"She really has grown, since the last time I saw her." Maruya said with a smile. Konohamaru then walked up beside her.

"So, you mastered Sakura's Jutsu yet?" Asked Konohamaru.

"Yeah, I just mastered it a few weeks ago. Why?"

"Maybe you can have a little time together and teach her it." Maruya reacted immediately by looking over at Konohamaru.

"You're really sure?" She asked.

"Eh, why not? This girl's gonna be a wonder, and I think she needs all the Jutsu she can master."

"Th-Thank you..."

"Now, I don't mean to spoil your fun, but don't you have ANBU missions to do?" Asked Konohamaru.

"Oh right." But before she could put her mask back on and depart, she noticed Haruhi was back to practicing Rasengan, much to her dismay of popping another yet again.

"It's gonna be a while before she learns it." Konohamaru said. "But, she's strong, like her mother." Then, Maruya stepped out of the bush and into Haruhi's line of sight. The balloon she was focussed on didn't burst, since she dispelled the Rasengan willingly. Maruya looked at the balloon carefully.

"Ummm...can I help you?" Asked Haruhi politely.

"I think she's trying to help _you_." Said Konohamaru. Since she didn't want to turn down advice, Haruhi remained quiet.

"Ohhhh." Maruya said with an epiphany in her head. "Before I show you what to do, my name is Maruya Mana, a friend of your Sensei's." She then offered a handshake to Haruhi.

"I'm Haruhi Uzumaki." Haruhi said shaking the hand.

"Here's a little pointer." Maruya started. "Some rotation-like Jutsu work better than others, if rotated in a different direction. The reason you're struggling to control this type of Jutsu is because you're rotating it to the right. Maybe if you rotate it to the left, it could be better?" Haruhi understood the advice well.

"But I've always used Rasengan to the right, it's how daddy did it." Haruhi said in protest.

"Remember, Haruhi." Konohamaru said joining the "lady-talk". "You're making this Jutsu on your own. The style Naruto does Rasengan is not the way you want to do it." Haruhi looked to her balloon, before dropping it briefly. Opening her palm, she focussed her Chakra to rotate to the left, instead of her right. The Chakra, Hatuhi found strange, morphed faster than normal, and her tension was lessened while building it up. It wasn't completely compressed into a sphere, but it was much easier to prepare.

"H-How did you know that?! Do you know Rasengan?!" Asked Haruhi in wonder. Maruya giggled.

"No, but I know a Jutsu similar to it." Haruhi expected to see the Jutsu first-hand, but instead, Maruya walked away.

"Wh-Where you going?" Asked Haruhi.

"I just came to say hi to the daughter of Sakura-Sensei. Consider my advice a little gift." She said, placing her ANBU mask back on, and jumping towards the trees back to the village.

"S-Sakura-Sensei?" Asked Haruhi in awe.

"She was the student of your mother, just like you are with me." Konohamaru said. "She joined the ANBU Black Ops after becoming Chuunin to strengthen herself to prepare for future missions. A feat which proves nowhere near ready for happening." Haruhi looked to the figure that was Maruya still jumping across the trees and smiled.

"She gave me advice on Rasengan, she must be strong." Haruhi said. Konohamaru smirked.

"Good point."

The training of Haruhi's was much better after Maruya's visit. The time Haruhi held her Rasengan was increased drastically to six minutes and thirty five seconds in just two hours.

"Very good, Haruhi!" Konohamaru cheered. "You're making excellent progress!" Haruhi restarted with a fresh balloon. Pouring all her focus onto the one balloon, she began to build up her Rasengan as powerful as she could, rotating as fast as it could, and as small as possible. Her determination to complete Rasengan was what pushed her to the edge, and she was inches away from learning the powerful Jutsu. The ballon burst around the same time as before. It grew later on that Haruhi's progress was made clear. Konohamaru smiled as Haruhi held the balloon for a long time now.

"That's ten minutes, Haruhi." Konohamaru called. The balloon dropped from Haruhi's hand, without even so much as a pop. She flexed her hand steadily and smiled happily. "Congratulations, you've mastered step three."

"So have I mastered Rasengan yet?" Asked Haruhi with excitement.

"Hold on, Haruhi. You haven't gotten used to performing Rasengan." Haruhi looked in confusion. "Now that you're familiar with all the steps required for Rasengan, you need to practice being able to equally balance them in order to use them in battle."

"But, I do know how to balance it!" Haruhi said in annoyance. To demonstrate, she focussed slightly and formed a true Rasengan ball. "See?" Konohamaru looked at it.

"It's good with it's Control, but because of this, it's Rotation and Strength lacks. Try using it on the tree again."

"Yes!" She said confidently. Without hesitation, she attacked the nearest tree with it, and to her surprise, more damage was done to the previous tree than the one she attacked now. There was a small hole, but only carved through the round scratches. "Why didn't it work this time?!"

"Strength was your ally yesterday. But now that you focus on control, the Rasengan won't be complete yet."

"Well, I better start practicing!" She said in confidence.

"I will warn you though...to master being able to control all three steps and successfully use it in battle, takes three years." Haruhi gaped in surprise.

"What-But- I don't have three years!!" Haruhi screamed in shock.

"Exactly. Naruto's method skipped the three years, in order to skip the true controlling of Rasengan. However, he came up with a second method which is in favour for the three year training." Haruhi raised her head in excitement.

"What? I'll do anything but the three year training!" Haruhi said desparately.

"Make a Shadow Clone." Konohamaru instructed.

"I thought Shadow Clones aren't allowed during the Rasengan build-up?"

"They won't be needed for the build up, just the training."

"O-Okay..." Hesitantly, she called on a Haruhi to her side. Konohamaru paused for a moment and handed the real Haruhi a blindfold.

"Now put this on. This will teach you a secret ability the Shadow Clones can do." Haruhi still a bit nervous with this, tied the blindfold across her eyes, robbing her of sight. "Okay, Clone, come here." The Clone approached Konohamaru and he whispered something into her ear. "Can you do that?"

"I-I can try." Said the Haruhi Clone nervously. Without thinking, the Clone attempted to kick Konohamaru as silently as possible, before Konohamaru blocked and punched the Clone to a pile of smoke.

"You can take it off now, Haruhi." With that, Haruhi was able to see once more. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"You whispered "Hit me with all you can", my Clone did and you beat her up." Haruhi said without a guess. Konohamaru smiled. "Wait, how did I know that?"

"Shadow Clones give the original his or her own experiences. Whatever the Clone does, the original will know as soon as it vanishes. That's what makes it a remarkable Jutsu." Haruhi thought for a second.

"Why didn't I know that when I was still in the Academy?" Haruhi said with a whisper. Konohamaru laughed.

"Maybe because Semapi knew what you'd do with it?"

"So what does this have to do with skipping the three year training?"

"The more people working on a single job, takes less time to do it. Two people halfen the time, three people third the time, and working with one thousand people can take a day for a thousand day work. The same rule applies for your Shadow Clones. The more Clones that are training with you, the less time it will take." Haruhi widened her eyes with excitement.

"Alright! Let's get to training!" Haruhi said in resolve. "My dad mastered Rasengan in a week, I need as much Clones to work on it by then, so that's..." She paused briefly to count on her fingers.

"You'll need one hundred and forty four Clones to make it in a week." Konohamaru said, figuring out the math. "I think Shikari and Takai will be finished with their Jutsu by then, considering it's level of easiness."

"Then let's get to work! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" And the entire forest floor was covered in Haruhi's as they began to balance the Rasengan's three steps to mastering them.

Many days passed for Haruhi, gaining the experience of all her Clones tired her out severely, but she pressed on with her training. Until, approximately a week later, the real Haruhi made a Rasengan merely by looking at her hand, and firing it across a bare tree. The results were devestating. Instead of making a small hole, Haruhi made a large hole, covering most of the tree's surface, which made it crack and fall to the forest floor.

"I...I did that?" Asked Haruhi. Konohamaru smiled with happiness, but not as much as Haruhi, who leapt onto her Sensei, giving him a hug of joy, before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. Unknown to the both of them, they had a spectator who smiled too: Maruya.

"Well done, Haruhi."

At the same time, a strong gust of wind blew across the meadow, as Shikari finished his training.

"You're good to go, Shikari." Konohamaru said and Shikari gave a grin.

"It sure was a drag, but I'm ready for anything now."

Meanwhile, Takai had mastered his Jutsu, with the same ring of fire around his feet.

"I think that sums it up." Konohamaru said happily.

"It was an embarrassment for me to delay it for a week." Takai said in his usual tone.

The three reunited at sunset, with Haruhi giving each of them a hug on their, and her, success.

"Well done, Team. You've all learned a Jutsu which will save your neck next time we're in danger. Keep practicing your Jutsu and no enemy ninja will want so much think of kidnapping you. Now, it's been a long day, and we all need some rest. You're all dismissed."

"Right!" Said the three Genin. Haruhi headed home, now anxious to show an eagerly waiting Tsukune.

Later, during the night once Haruhi was asleep, Naruto walked out of the santuary of his home to his back garden, and heard an old familiar voice.

"You wanted to see me, Naruto?" Asked a man with a hoarse voice. Naruto turned to a Jounin hidden in the shadows of the trees above and smiled.

"Yeah! Glad you can come." Naruto said happily. "My daughter just learned Rasengan from Konohamaru."

"Don't tell me you want to assassinate Konohamaru, do you?" The middle-aged Jounin asked. Naruto gave a laugh.

"Of course not. As you know, Haruhi is a tough girl, and I want to make sure she's ready by meeting you."

"So you want me to fight her in a serious battle?"

"Semi-serious. If you fought serious, you'd kill her in two seconds." The Jounin laughed.

"Very well, let's just hope she's as good as her father." And with that, the Jounin vanished into the shadows.


	13. Rescue Mission! A Terror Awaits!

**Rescue Mission! A Terror Awaits!**

The next day brought pain and ache on Haruhi's muscles as she lay on her bed. Over the past week and a half, she was completely dedicated to learning her father's Signature Jutsu in a timespan rivalling his. She was successful and her body was now suffering from it. Without thinking, she stretched her fingers, concentrated a large amount of Chakra and made her glowing Rasengan into her hand. She smiled happily once she dispersed it, now knowing her body no longer suffers from the immense strain. And so she left her bed, dressed into her orange attire and set off for meeting her team.

Naruto on the other hand, was busy making preparations for a mission for the new-found Haruhi. Him and Tsunade were in the Hokage's office discussing the mission.

"I see. So you wish for your daughter and her team to fight him?" Asked Tsunade.

"Yes. He's the perfect opponent to fight against Haruhi." Replied Naruto. "Haruhi will be in no danger at all, this is only a way for me to measure her strength now that her Rasengan is complete." Tsunade lay back on her chair.

"I'm not too very keen on sending Haruhi to fight him. You might as well throw her into a den of lions."

"She'll survive. All his attacks are to wound and not kill." Tsunade gave a sigh.

"Very well. I shall issue them this mission, seeing as you're eager to get your head blown to pieces by your wife." Naruto rubbed his head in angst.

"Sakura understands, it took her a while to earn my trust for Haruhi's missions, especially her last one." Tsunade laughed.

"I trust you have the minor details ready?"

"Yeah, I asked Konohamaru to arrange Team 9's students to participate in this mission. Their Sensei owes him a favour, so they'll be coming along for the ride."

"Excellent."

Haruhi arrived to meet Shikari and Takai, but no sign of their Sensei, Konohamaru.

"Hey, where's Sensei, Shikari-kun? He's the first one here unless there was something up." Haruhi asked.

"Dunno, he better not be late." Shikari said dully.

"He will not show." Takai said with a low voice. Haruhi looked at him strangely. "What is it, Haruhi?"

"You seem to know things we don't, Takai, like if you can see the future or something. Are you some kinda Seer?" Haruhi said.

"Don't be ridiculous, Haruhi. I just use my intuition more than you two." Shikari humphed. "For example, Sensei always arrives first here at this bridge, otherwise the time needed to depart. He explained on our first day he never arrives late because he has no reason to be late. Because he is not here and it is now one minute after our departing time means he will not show, rather than arrive late." Haruhi was stunned by his keen analysis on the situation, even more so that it was the longest running speech Haruhi heard him say in the three weeks they've been together. But before she could go into bigger detail, she was surprised to see a certain someone: her mother.

"Ahh, there you are Haruhi." Sakura said in relief.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Asked Haruhi.

"Konohamaru-kun won't be making it today, he was given a special assignment by Tsunade-sama later in the night." Sakura explained. Haruhi looked to Takai in awe. "But Tsunade-sama has a special assignment for you today, saying it's the perfect test for your new abilities." The team reacted immediately. "Well, if you'd like to follow me." Sakura led the way to the Hokage's Tower as Team 8 followed.

"Your mom sure does have an affiliation with the Hokage's, Haruhi." Said Shikari. "Besides your dad, what does your mom have to do with the present Hokage?" Haruhi massaged her chin, in a hopes to find the answer, but Sakura answered for her.

"Haruhi's father isn't the only one being trained by Tsunade-sama." She began. "I have been chosen by Naruto to be his Chief Administrator in the Leaf Village's affairs, or to you and I, his secretary. So Tsunade must teach me how to decide which business is worth the Hokage's attention and which is not." Haruhi listened to her mother's task as a Ninja with great interest. "But that's not just the reason. She was the person who trained me to become a Medical Ninja." Haruhi and Shikari gaped. Haruhi knew her mother was an excellent Ninja when it came to healing injuries and internal damage, but never had she heard of the Fifth Hokage being the one who taught Sakura.

"_Mom, Dad, you're awesome..."_ Thought Haruhi.

The four arrived at the Hokage's office with Team 8 eagerly awaiting their mission orders. Sakura walked behind Tsunade and took her place next to Naruto. Tsunade shuffled through some notes and looked to the three.

"Good timing, Team 8." The Hokage Tsunade began. "As you know, your Sensei, Konohamaru Sarutobi is on an assignment on his own today. So, you will take this mission on your own." Haruhi gasped in excitement. Takai merely humphed, secretly gaining the attention of Naruto.

"So what's the mission?" Asked Haruhi.

"Around three days ago, one of your ally teams, Team 9, were on a C-Rank Mission without their Sensei." Started Tsunade. "Although the mission was successful, they were apprehended by a ninja defect from our own village." Haruhi gasped.

"Were they killed?" She asked in worry.

"No, they were kidnapped." Haruhi gave another gasp.

"If it's Team 9's troubles, why not leave it to their Sensei? It's their job to protect their students, right?" Asked Shikari lazily. Haruhi gave him a cold stare.

"Don't you care for others other than yourself?!" She screamed in controlled anger.

"Shikari is right, Haruhi." Said Takai. She gave him an equally evil stare. "One of the teacher's responsibilities as teacher is to defend his or her students from harm until they are fully matured as Shinobi. Team 9's leader obviously failed to do so."

"I can't believe you two!" Haruhi said angrily.

"Calm down you three." Tsunade commanded. "Team 9's Sensei can't save them because she alone cannot defeat this man. This ninja is never to be trifled with. If you do, he will not let the opportunity slip to kill you."

"But why send us?" Shikari asked. "If someone as talented as the 9th Team's Sensei can't beat him, what makes you think we got a ghost of a chance?"

"Then, if you will allow me to explain the mission, your question will be answered." Tsunade said. Haruhi looked expectantly. "You are to infiltrate the area in which he resides, which lies to the South of this village. Once there, you will locate and liberate his captives. If he doesn't show, proceed as normal back to the Village. If he does show, do not engage him in combat. If you do, you will lose instantly. Shikari, you will stall him with your Shadow Possession long enough for Haruhi and Takai to get the job done. Haruhi will exchange herself for one of her Clones to get you out safely. Is all understood?"

"Yes!" Said Haruhi with confidence.

"Now go! You haven't got a moment to spare!" Tsunade ordered. The Team left. On their way out, Haruhi remained quiet to the rest of her Team, still bitter on their attitude towards Team 9's capture. The three readied themselves at the gate which was being opened.

"Yo, Haruhi..." Shikari started.

"What is it?" Asked Haruhi coldly.

"Why do you care so much about Team 9. You're not their keeper or anything." Shikari said.

"I might not be responsible for them, Shikari-kun. But I know what Sensei and dad told me. I can't sit back and watch my allies die!" Haruhi said in her cold tone, making Shikari gape in understanding. Takai remained quiet.

"If you're done blabbing, can we go?" Asked Takai.

"Of course we will." Haruhi said without remorse towards Shikari. And so the three departed, with Haruhi still keeping a cold shoulder at Shikari. The three walked at a normal pace across the forest wilderness, just so they won't miss the hideout if they charged in blindly.

Around ten minutes later, Haruhi broke the silence.

"How do we know where this guy's hideout is?" Asked Haruhi to Takai. Although she was mad at him, she wasn't as mad at Takai than to Shikari.

"Believe me, I'll know." He said. Haruhi just looked towards Shikari through the corner of her eye, he just walked with his head held high and looking at the trees.

"What does that idiot think he's doing? Being all cool and relaxed like that? This isn't a pleasure cruise, Shikari-kun!" Haruhi thought wildly.

"Haruhi." Prepped Takai. At once, Haruhi reacted. "I don't advice you to hold a grudge against Shikari just because he follows his family's bloodline of being idle."

"Why shouldn't I?" Asked Haruhi coldly. "Everything he said back there was completely against what my father thinks is right. We can't let our allies die and watch their closest people suffer for it...that's what my dad always used to tell me."

"Nor can you accept hatred." Takai said. "If you let hatred towards even your closest friends invade your heart, you will only lead a path your father diapproves of. Revenge, remorse, anguish and guilt. All those negative emotions will only cause you pain and suffering." Haruhi listened in wonder to Takai's reasoning. "I may not know my mother to call her my mother, but I only remember those words from her." Just before Haruhi could enjoy her civil conversation with Takai, he stopped and quickly shook his hand in front of Haruhi, stopping her too, with Shikari catching up to them. Before them stood a small empty space of land with a few tree stumps making refuge, and there was no longer grass or moss by more dirt and soil. Takai approached cautiously. "This is where the hideout is."

"How can you be sure?" Asked Haruhi.

"I have a keen sense of detecting high Chakra levels." Takai said, inspecting the stumps. "Plus, this is a very dense part of the forest that the Hokage led us to. Why is this particular place the only place with trees cut down?" Haruhi inspected the stumps too, it was clearly chopped down by hand. She gave a laugh at her own stupidity. "Their base must be underground, if we can find the door." Haruhi began looking around for the base just as Takai did, however, Shikari watched them do the searching.

"Tsh, amateurs." Said Shikari dumbly. He kneeled down and took what appeared to be a chain. Pulling it from the ground, he yanked it upwards, flipping up a secret underground entrance, and throwing Haruhi off her feet with a "Woah!!" who was standing under the entrance.

"Impressive, Shikari." Takai said, approaching from afar.

"I heard your little remark about the Nara's being lazy." Shikari said. "So, thought I'd give my extra bloodline a bit of a boost, since you guys hate my lazy side."

"And what extra bloodline will that be?" Asked Takai.

"My mental thinking side." Shikari said with confidence. Unfortunately, Haruhi whacked Shikari away with great force, for throwing her away from opening the entrance.

"And I'll be knocking that mental thinking out of you right NOW!!!" Screamed Haruhi in anger.

"Enough, Haruhi!" Takai said warningly. "You can pummel him later. Right now, we've got a mission to do." Haruhi sighed.

"Fine." Haruhi said as she, Takai and Shikari inspected the entrance; it was a long winding staircase into the darkness. "Is it safe? There could be booby traps."

"That's what he'll want you to think." Shikari said. Takai took from his leg pouch a Shuriken and swung it down the staircase. Five seconds later, it landed at the bottom with a clatter.

"Seems safe." Takai said. He then took out a ninja flare and journied fourth into the darkness. Haruhi had no choice but to follow, and Shikari brought up the rear. The three climbed down the stairs successfully without setting off any traps. As they progressed through the dark environment, Takai's green light shone a dark and spooky stone tunnel.

"This really is creepy." Haruhi said with an echo bouncing off the stone walls.

"Shhh!" Commanded Takai. "If we're caught out right now, it'll be harder to complete the mission." But little did they know, lurking in the shadows of the many stone cracks was none other than the instigator in this mission.

The three Genin continued to walk across the dark stone tunnel, staying on constant alert in case of an ambush.

"Why isn't anything happening yet?" Asked Haruhi. "Shouldn't we have at least found Team 9 by now?"

"Patience is a virtue, Haruhi." Shikari said. Then, they finally stumbled on a lone steel door, with no forks in the road to give them any choice. "See? Virtue." Takai opened it cautiously, and pushed forward slowly. On the other side of the door truly amazed Haruhi. A long stone hallway stretched across a large room, with four pillars supporting the roof of the cave.

"Wow! You could fit the entire Leaf Village in here." Haruhi said in wonder. Takai turned off his flare and pocketed it, as there were many flaming torches lighting the hall already. The three split up to cover more ground, and to search for the three missing Genin. Until...

"Guys, over here!" Called Shikari. Takai and Haruhi raced to Shikari's location. When Haruhi arrived she seen three ninja the same age as herself, two boys and a girl. The three were sitting against the wall, with their hands tied behind their back and apparently unconscious. One of the boys and the girl looked strangely alike, both had a fang-shaped mark etched on both their cheeks, dark grey coats with furry hoods, royal blue trousers, and the most curious was both had a puppy, both white with brown patches, hidden under their jackets so their heads were popping out to get a glimpse of their surroundings, giving small whimpers for the help of their owners. Individually, the girl had short purple hair with a tender looking face, whilst the boy had short spiky hair with a very serious looking face. The remaining boy, who was the odd one out of the three, had a biege t-shirt with equally coloured trousers. His facial appearances included spiky hair in the fringe, a short pony tail at the bottom of his hair and his face was more tougher than the rest.

"Do you know them?" Asked Haruhi.

"Yeah." Takai said. "The two identical ones are the Inuzuka twins, Kitsuin is the boy and Hitsuin is the girl. The boy is Koga Sachi, member of the Sachi Clan." Takai kneeled to them and checked their pulses.

"Are they okay?" Asked Haruhi in worry.

"They're alive. But they're under a very heavy Genjutsu. It will take me a while to release all three of them." Takai analyzed. "Though it is strange."

"What is?" Asked Haruhi.

"These three individually were strong back at the Academy." Said Shikari. "They wouldn't fall so easily to a Genjutsu. Unless..."

"Our opponent really is as the Hokage says to be." Takai filled in. Haruhi gave a gulp and Takai formed some hand seals to release the Genjutsu.

"Since when were you an expert on Genjutsu, Takai-kun?" Asked Haruhi.

"I have...experience with it." Takai said. He placed a palm on the male twin. "Make sure the ninja doesn't interrupt me."

"Okay!" Haruhi said confidently, looking across the wide room, keeping a close lookout for the ninja. Around ten minutes later, Haruhi heard the sound of some groans and weakened coughs, she turned around to see that the twin called Kitsuin had indeed been released of his Genjutsu.

"Are you hurt?" Asked Takai.

"N-No..." Kitsuin said, with his puppy giving barks of glee. "But...there's no time, you need to help my sister!" Kitsuin added urgently. Takai nodded and went to work on restoring Kitsuin's sister.

"Look out!" Warned Shikari, yanking the three down, and a series of Kunai and Shuriken missed them and plunged into the wall.

"We've been found?!" Asked Haruhi in full alert. And then, they heard the soft and menacing footsteps approaching them. Five seconds of the heart-stopping footsteps did Haruhi spot the ninja. He had silver long spiky hair, an eye patch over his left eye, a dark blue mask concealing his mouth and nose, a black metal-like vest, and royal blue overalls with long sleeves.

"So, you've found us." The man said cooly.

"Sh-Shikari...Use your Shadow Possession." Haruhi whispered with fear choking her.

"Got it..." Shikari said in a quiet tone. He formed a hand seal and his shadows were moving towards the ninja. Just before the shadow could meet contact, lightning raged all around him, making the shadow repel in it's light. "Damn it! I can't get near him with that lightning!"

"What?!" Haruhi exclaimed.

"Now that's no way to go about doing things." Said the ninja. "We haven't even formally introduced ourselves. You'll need to know my name before I kill all three of you." Haruhi grunted.

"If we tell you our names will you tell us why you kidnapped Team 9?" Asked Haruhi.

"I don't see a reason why not." The ninja replied. Why the ninja was this cool was beyond Haruhi.

"I'm Takai Katake." Said the name.

"Shikari Nara."

"Haruhi Uzumaki."

"Ahhhh! The daughter of the next Hokage. What a privilage."

"Alright, enough cool guy act!" Haruhi said fiercely. "Now who are you and what do you want with Team 9?!"

"Someone seems to be in a hurry. Okay. You can call me...Kakashi Hatake!"

"Kakashi...Hatake...?" Haruhi wondered in question.

"And why I kidnapped these three? Well..." The ninja named Kakashi said eagerly. "I did it, so I can kill you!!" Haruhi widened her eyes in fear and Kakashi charged full force towards the three. Shikari reacted immediately, sending out a horde of shadows that split like tree roots that all went for Kakashi, unfortunately more lightning raged around him, making Shikari's shadows worthless.

"Guess we have no choice." Takai said, standing up and preparing for battle. "Kitsuin! Take your sister and Koga and get out of here!" Takai said this while using a Kunai to cut the ropes off Kitsuin.

"G-Got it!" Kitsuin replied as he hoisted his sister and the boy named Koga onto his shoulders and making a run for the exit.

"Not so fast!" Kakashi yelled, intercepting Kitsuin. His hand became immersed in lightning and was about to use it to attack Kitsuin. "Lightning Blade!" He thrust his hand towards Kitsuin in order to kill him, but Haruhi kicked him away just in time, causing his Jutsu to wear off.

"Go now!" Haruhi commanded. Kitsuin nodded and ran into the dark tunnel leading outside.

"Heh, you made the prey escape." Said Kakashi. "But I'll make due with you instead."

"Haruhi, regroup!" Commanded Takai. Haruhi understood, and jumped to her comrade's location.

"What do we do now?" Asked Haruhi.

"We have to stall Kakashi until Kitsuin can escape to the Leaf and call reinforcements." Takai said.

"Not a wise idea!" Said Kakashi in a loud tone behind his mask. "Do you think you can so easily stall me?! If you're willing to make it out of this alive, then we're fighting..." Suddenly, a mass amount of Chakra built around him with such force, it slightly blew the Genin off-balance. "...to the death!!!" And then he ran at a high speed particularly at Haruhi, with another Lightning Blade ready. But, a gust of wind blew across the room, and went straight for Kakashi, knocking him back and ending his Lightning Blade.

"Wh-what was that?" Asked Haruhi. She turned around to the source and was shocked at who cast it.

"Geez, never thought I'd have to save your necks, so troublesome." Said the familiar voice of Shikari. Haruhi was astonished at what Shikari did.

"Sh-Shikari-kun..." Haruhi began.

"Save it. Save your energy for watching me kick his butt." Shikari replied, stepping forward from Takai and Haruhi. "I'm your opponent, Kakashi!"

"Mind running me over that Jutsu you used?" Asked Kakashi with focus. Shikari performed two hand signs and pointed a fist to the nearest wall.

"Wind-Style - Wind Cannon!" He called and from his hand came the same wind attack that punched a hole in the wall. It didn't go right through, but the hole was gaping. "I'm not sure I told you, but my bloodline runs from the Hidden Sand Village, from the Wind Country. It's only natural that my main Chakra affinity is Wind. And thanks to Konohamaru-Sensei's training, he taught me this killer move. Sorry, Kakashi, but you picked the wrong fight with me, 'cus last I checked, Wind beats the stuffing out of Lightning." Haruhi was astonished by Shikari's impressive skill and his explanation of how he learned a Wind-Style Jutsu. Kakashi gave a "Hmph", either out of shock or joy, Haruhi couldn't tell from behind his mask.

"I see. That's a pretty impressive Jutsu you have there, Nara. My Lightning Blade can't get near you as long as you're firing that Wind Cannon." Kakashi analyzed. "But...I'm sorry to break it to you, but me losing to Wind isn't happening." He reached up to his face and removed the eye patch from his left eye. From Haruhi's line of vision, his eyeball was still in it's socket, but had a large scar down it. Also, the iris was coloured dark red, as opposed to his black right eye, and had three small dots in a triangle formation on it. Takai grunted in shock.

"Who...Who are you?!" Yelled Takai in fury.

"I am Kakashi Hatake, known across the world as "Copy Ninja Kakashi!"" He explained. "And what you see on my eye, is my Sharingan!" Takai gasped in fear.

"Everyone! We have to get out of here! Now!!" Takai yelled. "I heard stories...that the Sharingan is one of the most deadliest Kekkei Genkai's of the ninja world! We cannot win!!"

"Kekkei...Genkai..." Haruhi said to herself.

"Jutsu passed on through blood." Shikari filled in. "Only those who are blood related can learn Kekkei Genkai's. But, just because this old fart has a Kekkei Genkai, doesn't mean I'm gonna beat him!" Shikari readied himself.

"Never underestimate the Sharingan!" Yelled Kakashi as he charged for Shikari. He reacted immediately and sent a Wind Cannon for him. But then, Kakashi formed a fast-paced hand seal. "Fire-Style - Fireball Jutsu!" And over the mask came a large fireball that clashed with the Wind and fired straight for Shikari even stronger than before. Shikari dodged and Kakashi was waiting for him at the other side of the fireball.

"What the?!" Shikari grunted in surprise. He tried to throw a Shuriken towards him, but it turned out to be a Genjutsu illusion which passed straight through him. "Where is he?!" He looked around frantically for his assailant. Then, Kakashi appeared right behind him.

"Always expect the unexpected!" Kakashi yelled and kicked Shikari straight into the wall. "Always fight like your life is on the line!" He punched Shikari several times in the stomach, weakening him exponentially

"Shikari-kun!" Yelled Haruhi in worry. Fear was taking over her body, that she was frozen in fright.

"And always..." Kakashi yelled preparing a Lightning Blade. And then, he impaled Shikari in the shoulder with it.

"...be prepared to die..."


	14. Outmatched! Kakashi's Force!

**Outmatched! Kakashi's Force!**

Shikari lay on the carved hole in the wall, with lightning raging around him, as a concentrated lightning beam was stuck in his shoulder. He coughed up blood before the enigmatic ninja, Kakashi Hatake. He ended his Lightning Blade and threw Shikari to the other side of the hall, with a pool of blood amassing on the spot around his body. Haruhi was frozen in fear, her body trembled in fear, and her heart beat faster more than any other occasion.

"Sh-Shikari-kun..." Haruhi whispered.

"That takes care of him." Kakashi said in an uncaring way. Without realising, Haruhi charged for the unconscious Shikari.

"SHIKARI-KUN!!!!" She screamed, tears flooding down her eyes, and uncaring of her environment. Before she could fall to her knees and try to keep Shikari alive, Kakashi sped in front of her, with a Lightning Blade at hand. She couldn't move from the fear inflicted from Kakashi's supremacy, and was wide open for an attack. Until, someone else sped in front of her: Takai. He held the Lightning Blade away from her with his bare hand. "Takai-kun!"

"No time for formalities, Haruhi. Get yourself and Shikari as far away from here as possible!" Takai said, trying to hold back the blazing thunder.

"What about you?!" Haruhi said in worry.

"The mission is to free Team 9 from this demon's clutches! There's no time to worry about the life of one comrade!" Takai said, pushing back Kakashi's lighning-filled hand.

"Takai-kun!" Screamed Haruhi. "You can forget about me leaving you! If we're fighting, we fight together!" But before she could kick Kakashi in order to end the power struggle, Takai, with his free hand, grabbed Haruhi by her t-shirt, and threw her next to Shikari with great force. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'll be fine...Haruhi!!" Takai said, now struggling at Kakashi's efforts to pierce him. "Just take Shikari to the Leaf Village, along with Kitsuin and the others and get stronger back-up!" Haruhi looked to the weakened body of Shikari, knowing his safety was what counted at the moment.

"Okay!" Said Haruhi with determination. She hoisted Shikari onto her back and ran to the long winding tunnel as she ran to catch up with Team 9. As soon as Haruhi was gone, Takai threw Kakashi back with a great amount of force.

"You really shouldn't have told that girl to leave. Who else will save you once I kill you?" Asked Kakashi.

"I won't be dying today. Now that I'm alone, I can fight you at full strength!" Takai said with determinaton.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Kakashi asked. "Your friend, Shikari, was the only one capable of beating my lightning. Now that he's...indisposed, you have no chance of victory." Takai grew a smirk on his face.

"I wouldn't strike me out just yet, Kakashi Hatake! Shikari wasn't the only one earning lessons. Watch, cus you'll never see a stronger Jutsu again!" Takai closed his eyes, and clapped his hands together. Then, he began forming a series of hand seals and ended on one.

"Fire-Style - Chains of Fate Jutsu!"

Haruhi ran across the endless stone corridor to the outside once again. If Team 9 were out, then there mission was complete. However, fear was lurking in Haruhi's mind of the safety of Takai. She stopped for a moment and looked back to the hallway that was so far that she couldn't see it. She gave a sigh, giving in to temptation.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She said, calling forth two clones. One picked Shikari up from the original's shoulders. "You guys know what to do?"

"Yeah!" Said the two clones simulataneously. "Take Shikari back to the Leaf Village and call for back-up!"

"Good. I'm counting on you guys." The two ran on ahead to head to the Leaf Village. Haruhi turned her head to face the corridor leading back to the hallway. "Hang on, Takai! I'm coming!" And with that, she raced back.

"Hmmm...what's this Jutsu I wonder?" Asked Kakashi to himself. Fire raged in a circular fashion all around Takai's feet. The fire didn't hurt him, but he kept his focus nonetheless. Then, he outstretched his hands, much to the curiosity of Kakashi. Just when Kakashi seen it all, chains fluttered all around Takai's arms from the fire ring, with it's metallic clutters ringing through the hall's chasm and finally, the end of the chain was summoned, in the form of two large clubs with fire raging around them, to which Takai held them with both of his hands. When the clubs finally came out, the fire ring was dispelled.

"Behold, Fire-Style - Chains of Fate Jutsu!" Takai said with a smirk. Kakashi widened his eyes at the ferocity of this Jutsu. And at once, Takai charged, jumped up and swung one club to bash Kakashi. Swiftly, Kakashi dodged, as the impact of the attack made on the ground made it crumble, along with fire exploding around it. "There!" Using his second chain-connected club, he threw it directly for Kakashi.

"What the?!" Kakashi yelled in surprise. The club made contact, bashing Kakashi away, into a wall, cracking it to pieces on impact. Takai curled the chain around his arm, forcing the club back. Kakashi emerged with his metal shirt dented greatly. "Man...even with my Sharingan, I never seen that coming." He heaved himself up, taking his stance again. "Either I'm getting old, or this kid's something. At my present style, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit of both." Takai charged once more, using his clubs to swing for Kakashi. He dodged, narrowly avoiding the flames, but before Takai could reload himself from lifting the clubs up once more, Kakashi made his move by attacking with a Lightning Blade. Without thinking, Takai flung a section of chains towards his attacker, making his charge become unbalanced, and Takai kicked him back, ending his Jutsu. "I must admit, Takai...your style of attacking is very offensive!"

"I told you I'm not dying today." Takai said. "In order to back that up, you must die."

"I see. Then you're battling to the death, huh?" Kakashi said, with a hint of sadness.

"That's what it is." Takai responded. Kakashi stretched slightly.

"Hoo boy, never thought it'd come down to this." Kakashi thought. "Best hope this old ticker can take it." Takai didn't wait, and ran for Kakashi once more. "Full strength it is..."

Haruhi arrived to the gigantic door outside the hall and seen Takai on the charge for Kakashi. The first thing she noticed was Takai's impressive clubs.

"What the?" Haruhi said to herself, peering through the ajar door. "Takai must've learned that Jutsu from Sensei. Is Takai's strength that great?"

And so the battle between Takai and Kakashi resumed, with their eager spectator watching in the wings. Takai charged, hoping to use his clubs for melee purposes, but Kakashi had other plans. He used extremely fast hand seals and arrived at one.

"Water-Style - Water Dragon Jutsu!" He called. From the ground, the stone tiles burst forth, with water gushing forth like a fountain. Takai froze from his charge to stare upon a giant water pillar, in the shape of a dragon, staring down at him.

"How?! How are you able to do Water-Style without nearby water?!" Takai asked in surprise.

"Yes, it's difficult to perform Water-Style without any water. But remember, we are underground, where water courses through the soil and earth beneath the ground. All I need to do is conjure it up!" He waved his hands forward for the dragon to attack.

"Oh no!" Thought Takai. The dragon gushed towards him, hoping to make Takai's clubs useless with it's watery wrath, but he jumped backwards avoiding a great flush of water. Kakashi didn't stop however.

"Water-Style - Water Vortex Jutsu!" Kakashi called. Using his bare hands, he pushed the water that was pushed upwards by the previous Jutsu towards Takai with such force, Takai had no time to recover from his previous dodge and dodge this one. So, Takai was enveloped in this strong wave of water. He gave a yell in pain as the strong current of water was so strong, it forced Takai to the wall, seemingly crushing him. The water partially flooded the hallway, only escaping through the large door did it calm down and soak Haruhi's feet. Takai emerged from the water, drenched, exhausted from the assault and his clubs had lost it's fire aura, and suddenly, both clubs turned to ash and disintegrated from Takai's hands, along with the chains. "I knew it. A little water gets in them, your entire Jutsu goes."

"I'm still strong enough...to kill YOU!" Takai retorted, and disregarding his pains, attacked once more. But Kakashi enveloped his hands in lightning once more and smacked Takai away so hard, he smacked to the wall, crumbling it around him.

"A ninja needs to know his limits!" Kakashi said sternly. "Surely you as a Genin must know that!" Takai fell to the ground, now completely beaten.

"Takai-kun!" Haruhi whispered in worry, with her hands cupped to her mouth.

"I'll be glad to end it for you!" Kakashi said, approaching Takai with the intent to kill in his odd-coloured eyes. In his hand was a Kunai and before him stood the weakened Genin. Takai got up slightly to face the evil Kakashi.

"Haruhi...I'm sorry...I failed you...F-Forgive me..." Takai said weakeningly. And Kakashi attacked with his Kunai.

"You don't need to apoligize!"

Takai widened his eyes to see Haruhi standing before him, clutching the Kunai Kakashi had to kill him, and she kicked Kakashi away.

"What...what are you...?" Takai said weakly.

"Don't give me that trash about abandoning you, Takai-kun!" Haruhi screamed. "I will never live with myself knowing someone is dying just so I can live!"

"But...Shikari..." Takai said again.

"Shikari-kun is safe! He's on his way to the Village."

"But...Haruhi. You need to get out of here! This ninja is dang-" But before Takai could finish, Haruhi grabbed him by his collar in frustration and held him to her face.

"Do you ever know when to shut up, Takai-kun?! I seen this guy in action, and believe me when I tell you, I can handle him!" She threw him to the ground and prepared for battle. "I'll be okay. Just tend to yourself. For once." Takai remained speechless at Haruhi's display.

"You should've ran...Haruhi." Takai whispered.

"So, the last of the Team." Kakashi said. "How's it feel to be the last of your group standing?"

"Shut up!" Haruhi whispered with malice. "How dare you hurt my friends and think you can just get away with it!" And she ran full force to Kakashi. He reacted by using a Lightning Blade to counter her run, but when it made contact, it was a Shadow Clone that vanished.

"Shadow Clones, huh?" Kakashi said in surprise. Haruhi appeared behind him with a Rasengan fully ready and hit it deep into his back. But, the Kakashi that was hit was also a Shadow Clone.

"What?! He can do Shadow Clones too?!" Haruhi said in surprise. Kakashi appeared at the sides.

"Not just Shadow Clones!" He said attempting to punch her. She blocked with ease, but unexpectantly, was kicked in the stomach by another force. Haruhi was stunned to see two Kakashi's. One suddenly turned into a puddle of water with a loud splash.

"Wh-What was that?!" Haruhi said in surprise.

"Water Clones make excellent surprise tactics!" Kakashi said in triumph, and forming a hand seal. A second Kakashi came behind Haruhi and punched her away, immediately dispersing, a third Clone rose above the ground where Haruhi landed, and kicked her away again. This process continued until Haruhi was beaten to a pulp, with bruises appearing on her stomach and arms as she panted exhaustion. "Give up now?"

"Never!" Haruhi said in anger.

"Suit yourself." Kakashi said with a sigh and a hand seal. A hand then grabbed Haruhi's ankle from below; she was surprised by this and was further surprised when a second grabbed her other ankle, and both hands turned into balls of water, which wrapped around Haruhi's ankle, denying her feet movement.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Haruhi screamed in frustration, tugging her feet upwards to try and become free.

"You said you could handle me, just by watching how I fight?" Kakashi said. "But you fail to forget. I have over one thousand Jutsu learned. If one method of attacking fails, I can immediately swap to another! If my calculations are right, you've seen up to ten of my Jutsu so far. But what would happen if I used the other Jutsu in my stockpile?" The two hands that were latched onto Haruhi's ankle, soon became hundreds of hands, all latching onto several pieces of her body: her arms, her torso, her neck, The water was beginning to wrap all around her, with only her head free. "What will you do then?" Behind all the water that was surrounding her body, drenching her completely, she gave a smile.

"I'll just have to beat every one of them!" Haruhi said before her face fell to the many water hands surrounding her. But, she emerged once more with water splashing everywhere, as Haruhi held a Rasengan in her hand. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I don't care how many Jutsu it takes to kill you, I will! You might have a thousand Jutsu up your sleeves, but I can tell! You don't have enough Chakra to call all of them!" Kakashi widened his eyes in disbelief. "As for me, I got enough Chakra to last against you!" She fired forwards ready to attack with Taijutsu, Kakashi blocked a punch rather weakly, but was thrown back by the force.

"This isn't good!" Kakashi thought. "If I don't end this soon, she's really gonna kill me!" While his mind was talking, Kakashi was desparately avoiding or blocking attacks made by Haruhi. "I should've waited to go full power at first with her!" Then Haruhi kicked him back once more. He recovered quite well and prepared many hand seals.

"Fire-Style - Fireball Jutsu!" Kakashi called, sending a giant fireball towards Haruhi. She darted to the sides and dodged it as it exploded on the wall. Before her assault could continue, she seen that Kakashi had vanished. Before she could look around, he appeared behind her. "Earth-Style - Capturing Wall Jutsu!" Haruhi turned to face Kakashi, but something else came behind her now: a giant wall that when Haruhi gazed at it, rock feelers lashed out from it, and grabbed Haruhi's wrists, dragging them upwards.

"Damn it!" Screamed Haruhi, trying to release her bound hands. Kakashi appeared before her, with a Lightning Blade ready.

"Try dodge this!" Kakashi said with triumph. He lunged it forwards, piercing Haruhi in the chest, but it turned out to be a Shadow Clone. "Crafty nuisance!" Suddenly the giant rock wall holding Haruhi crumbled with great force, as the said charged from the dust emitted by it, with a Rasengan in hand. Kakashi tried to dodge it, but the Rasengan caught the side of his torso, giving him a weakened cough. Haruhi landed from her lunge and kicked Kakashi away, as he gave pant after pant, clutching his wounded side, in a hopes to stay alive. "Only one chance left!" He grabbed his wrist and focussed the grabbed hand downwards, forming a larger Lightning Blade than normal. Lightning tore up the walls and floors all around it. Haruhi widened her eyes in surprise.

"Looks like I'll have to give it my all too." She said. She too grabbed her wrist, and formed a more powerful version of her newly learned Rasengan. "Focus my Chakra more! A more focussed Rasengan delivers powerful results!" The Rasengan glowed dark blue all across the hallway. And then, the two charged, ready to lock in a Lightning Blade-Rasengan clash. They drew ever so closer to each other, with an intent to kill.

"Lightning Blade!"

"Rasengan!"

The two Jutsu's clashed, creating a large surge of Chakra that enveloped half of the hallway, crumbling anything that stood within a two metre radius of it. The force of the wind was so strong, that even Takai, who was amazed by it, had to brace himself to stop from falling over.

"Haruhi?!" Takai called. Soon the surge faded, leaving tiny chunks of Chakra emitting throught the battlefield. And on the hemisphere of a crater stood Kakashi and Haruhi, both standing, but on closer inspection, very weakened. Kakashi's metal armour was shredded to pieces and had his clothes ripped apart. Haruhi's clothes were rippd both had very large grazes, cuts and wounds.

"You're...quite the girl...Haruhi..." Kakashi said in a weakened state.

"Yeah?" Haruhi too whispered. "You're...pretty strong yourself..." Kakashi laughed and coughed simulataneously.

"You...remind me of your father...and your mother..." Kakashi said, instantly raising the attention of Haruhi.

"What...do you mean...?" Asked Haruhi.

"...I...was their Sensei..."Kakashi said now giving into his pains and fell for the floor.

"Heh-he...isn't that something?" Asked Haruhi, also giving in, fell too.

But before the two fell, two unknown forces sped to their aid. So fast, that Takai didn't notice them at first. Takai seen that the two forces were Naruto Uzumaki and Konohamaru Sarutobi, who caught Haruhi and Kakashi respectively.

"You did good, honey...I'm proud of you." Naruto said with a happy face to her unconscious daughter. "You too, Kakashi. I knew you'd have some fight left in yah."

"Senpai." Konohamaru said. "We need to get these three to Sakura, right away!"

"Right!" Naruto said, lifting his daughter onto his arms as Konohamaru hoisted Kakashi onto his back. They approached the door and to Takai. "Can you stand okay, kid?"

"Y-Yeah..." Said Takai, still stunned over Naruto's arrival. He got up, still very weakened with his battle with Kakashi too and followed the two to the tunnel. "What are you doing here though, Hokage-sama? You too, Sensei?"

"Well, we wanted to test your abilities, with your Chains of Fate, Shikari's Wind Cannon and Haruhi's new Rasengan." Konohamaru explained.

"Fighting against regular ninja would've only been an insult to you, so I asked my old teacher, Kakashi, to fight against you. We had Team 9 act as a bait to trick you into thinking this was a real mission, and therefore a serious fight, that way you could fight at full potential. I asked Kakashi to fight with half of his strength, but as it turned out, he had to go all-out to suffice a draw." Naruto explained further. Takai gasped in surprise over the fake mission.

"But what about Shikari? He was nearly killed by Kakashi." Takai countered.

"Shikari was in no danger at all." Konohamaru explained. "Everyone here, plus Haruhi's mom, Sakura, were all watching, so if anything went wrong, such as someone unable to fight any longer, she'd intervene and heal the wounds. Luckily, Haruhi's Shadow Clones delivered Shikari safely to Sakura, so that made the show go on. While the fight was fighting, Sakura knocked the two Shadow Clones out and got to work on healing Shikari. But because Haruhi was fighting Kakashi at the time, she didn't notice the surprise attack knowledge gained from the Shadow Clones. If Haruhi wasn't fighting, she'd have gotten suspicious." Takai lowered his eyebrows in wonder, over how elaborate the whole plan was.

"So...Kakashi isn't a defect from the Village?" Asked Takai.

"Nope. If he was, why are we carrying him back to the best Medical-Ninja in the Village?" Asked Konohamaru with a smile.

"But why?" Asked Takai. "Couldn't you have just sent us to fight a high-rank Rogue Ninja?"

"Hmmmm..." Hummed Naruto. "Nah. Three reasons. One, there were no Rogue Ninja assassinations at the time. Two, if there was, we had no idea what this ninja would be like, and we wouldn't know if he was at your level or not. At least with Kakashi, we know every surprise he'll do. And three, the Leaf Village aren't as brutal as that. What would you say if your friend was a Rogue Ninja and I told my men to kill him?"

"Well, I..." Takai said rather confusingly.

"You'd feel angry, bitter and hateful." Naruto continued. "That single solitary kill would cause a man to become enveloped in rage and hate. That is something, I will not see happen again!"

"Again?" Asked Takai in curiosity. Suddenly he looked to the ground below him in sadness. "I see...your friend..." Naruto gave a small sigh in heart-ache, but nonetheless carried Haruhi to safety...

Haruhi was in a deep sleep for as long as she could remember. She could remember her and the Rogue Ninja Kakashi going down, but after that, it was all a blur. Suddenly, her eyes whiskered and she opened her eyes, trying to get familiar with the natural light that was the outside sun. She groaned slightly and got up slowly to observe her environment. She was in a white blanketed bed with herself in blue pajamas and a series of bandages on her hands, chest and forehead. Haruhi looked further to see she was in a ward of the Leaf's hospital. The ward looked to be empty, but her eyes fell upon another restee of the ward, sitting by his bedside reading an orange book in utter delight: Kakashi Hatake. He too was bandaged in the same fashion and was wearing a dark blue vest and his usual mask, camouflaging his face. His left eye was closed and occasionally giving slight laughs, possibly from the book he was reading.

"You!" Haruhi called in shock. Kakashi looked up, after using his finger as a bookmark.

"Oh, hey, Haruhi!" He said merrily. "See your finally awake." Haruhi gaped at his calm state.

"Wh-What are you doing here?! Your a ninja defect! You-" Kakashi gave a laugh.

"Oh yeah. You were unconscious the whole time." Kakashi said rubbing his hair. "Sorry to break it to you, but long story short, Tsunade just called me a ninja defect to make you want to fight me seriously." Haruhi gaped at this.

"That's not true! You were about to kill Shikari-kun and Takai-kun!" Haruhi screamed. Suddenly the doors opened to reveal Sakura, Haruhi's mother.

"What's all the commotion ab-" Sakura said, but was cut off from the sight of her conscious daughter. "Ah! Haruhi! All better I see." Haruhi felt like smacking herself in the face.

"Mom! What's going on with Kakashi?! Whose side is he really on?!" Haruhi asked in frustration.

"Think you better tell her the full story, Sakura." Kakashi said. Sakura nodded and sat at Haruhi's bedside. And soon she went over everything in detail of how the mission was planned out, how Kakashi was involved and how everything was all according to plan.

"You mean...this entire mission was a fake?" Haruhi said in confusion.

"Not really fake, Haruhi." Kakashi filled in. "More...predetermined."

"We're sorry we lied to you, but we wanted to see if you could last on your own." Sakura said in pity.

"Which you can." Kakashi said in high inspiration. "Not many people can last against me in a one-on-one." With that Haruhi gave a smile, but raised an alarming frown.

"Shikari-kun! He's..." Haruhi screamed in fright.

"He's safe." Sakura said in a soothing voice. "I made sure healing Shikari-kun was my top priority." Haruhi took a few seconds to realise her mother's words, and settled down.

"Can I see him? I need to talk to him alone." Haruhi said.

"Of course." Sakura said allowing her to leave her bedside. She stood up, slipped some slippers onto her feet and Sakura escorted her to Shikari's ward. But before she left, Haruhi turned around to Kakashi.

"See yah around, Kakashi." She waved.

"It's been a pleasure, Haruhi." He said. And as soon as the Uzumaki girls left, he continued with his reading. The two walked down a small hallway of the hospital and came to a small ward to the left. In the ward was Shikari, resting in his bed with his hands over his head. His torso, where Kakashi stabbed him, was all covered in bandages from the shoulder, that wrapped all the way across his chest.

"Shikari-kun." Said Sakura in a gentle voice, rasing his attention. "I have a visitor for you." Shikari gave a smile on seeing the worried look on Haruhi's face. "I'll leave you two to it." And with that, Sakura took her leave and closed the ward door to allow the two some space. By instinct alone, Haruhi rushed to Shikari and gave him a bone crushing hug.

"Whoa!" Shikari grunted. "What's gotten into you?" Haruhi gave small tear-filled hiccups while hugging the injured Shikari.

"I'm so sorry for the stuff I said to you." She wailed. "You were trying to prove yourself to me against Kakashi, and you ended up nearly being killed!" Shikari gave a surprised look.

"That was one of my reasons for picking the fight, yeah." Shikari said.

"I'd never forgive myself if you died for me."

The next day, once Haruhi's injuries were completely healed, she set off on a mission of her own: to find Team 9. Ever since the day of the mission, she's been curious to see them. Eventually, she found them at the gates ready to go to a C-Rank Mission. The Inuzuka twins, Hitsuin and Kitsuin were there, along with the enigmatic-looking Koga Sachi, and the fourth in their squad: their Sensei made an appearance too. Team 9's Sensei was a tall beautiful-faced woman, with long orange hair focussed into two buns and wore the traditional Jounin's clothes.

"Hold up!" Haruhi called, grabbing the attention of the Team. She rushed to them and gave a small pant.

"Oh, you're Haruhi Uzumaki, right?" Said Kitsuin. "The girl who did that mission."

"That's me." She said happily. Hitsuin, the girl twin, presented herself in front of Haruhi and presented a hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Haruhi." She said with a gentle voice. "Hitsuin Inuzuka." Without hesitation, Haruhi shook the hand.

"You seem like a really friendly Team." Said Haruhi in a happy tone.

"So why did you come, Haruhi?" Said Koga, in a low tone, most likely his normal sounding voice.

"Oh, ummm..." Haruhi said wondering why she wanted to see Team 9. "I just wanted to know how you three got dragged into Team 8's mission. Did you do it for fun?"

"Not really." Kitsuin said. "You see, Sensei owed Konohamaru-Sensei a favour. Since she wanted to make it square, she made us go." On looking at the Jounin, she was blushing intently.

"If you're done yapping, can we go on our mission now?" She asked rather hastily. The team responded immediately and went to her side.

"See yah later, Haruhi." Said Hitsuin, giving a wave. Haruhi waved back.

"Hah, good ol' Moegi." Said a voice behind her. Haruhi turned around to see Konohamaru.

"Sensei?" Said Haruhi. "What're you doing here?"

"Just watching Moegi off on another mission." He said contently. "Me and her were on the same Genin team once." Haruhi jolted at this.

"Hey, Sensei?" Asked Haruhi a bit calm from the surprise. "Kitsuin said Moegi-Sensei owed you a favour. What did you do that made her surrender her students for a while?" Konohamaru paused for a second.

"You don't wanna know."


	15. Disappearance! The Hunt for Shikari!

**Disappearance! The Hunt for Shikari!**

The hospital was just as quiet as it was during the late hours of the night. That was the thoughts of Shikari Nara, as he lay on his hospital bedside, still wide awake. His mind was plagued by the images of his last battle with Kakashi Hatake. His Wind Cannon was superior to Kakashi's Lightning Blade, but his mysterious Sharingan proved too much and he was quickly impaled and cast aside like a rag doll. Shikari clutched the spot where the wound had caused, still burning in his chest. If it weren't for Haruhi's mother, it probably would have killed him. If he'd have been stronger, he'd have saved his two comrades from pain and risk of death. Not only were those on his mind, but his actions a few hours beforehand too, were. He'd have let the Ninth Team go to death all because of his laziness. Was he too weak to do something about it, and brush it off as "Laziness"? Was it fear of death? Many questions lay in his mind, but the answer to all questions was his weakness. Despite his intense training, he was still inexperienced. Until, light shone on his face through the open window, as the sun was beginning to rise. He gave a sigh in irritation.

"What a drag..."

Once the day had risen, Haruhi had emerged from her hospital bedside, completely healed of wounds. She first of all noticed that Kakashi had gone. She gave a sigh of relief at this factor. Her first order of business after getting dressed, was to visit Shikari. She had hoped after he was completely healed, they could have a walk to the Team 8 meeting spot. She opened the ward door leading to his room.

"Shikari-kun..." She called happily. But to her surprise, his bed was completely empty. The bed was made, ready for a new patient, and there was no trace of him at all. The added mystery was that he was there yesterday, when she hugged him and apoligized for her actions. "That's weird...Oh well, maybe he's already at the bridge."

Haruhi had resorted in walking to the Team 8 checkpoint alone, hoping that Shikari had made it there too. Despite this factor, she had an ever-growing fear that he wasn't at the checkpoint. Her walking increased in pace, until it turned into a jog and then into a full run. She ran to the bridge where the Team meets first hand, and to her fear's realisation, only Takai was present.

"Takai-kun! Has Shikari-kun been here yet?" Haruhi said, catching her breathe.

"Not yet..." Takai said calmly.

"Wh-Where is he?" Asked Haruhi in worry. Takai looked down.

"I don't know..." Five minutes had passed before Konohamaru arrived.

"Alright, we're going on D-Rank Missions now." Konohamaru said calmly.

"Ummm...Sensei?" Haruhi prepped.

"Yes, Haruhi?"

"Where's Shikari-kun? Isn't he here?" Haruhi asked. Konohamaru looked around the area.

"Hmmm...that's odd. I could have sworn I seen him at the hospital last night." Konohamaru said in a thought-filled voice.

"Where could he have gone to?" Thought Haruhi.

"Maybe he went home to rest?" Asked Konohamaru. "C'mon, let's go check on him."

"Sensei." Called Takai. "What about the missions? Shouldn't we go ahead without Shikari?" Konohamaru thought to himself while massaging his beard-covered chin.

"Nah. It's only D-Rank Missions after all. They're easily covered." Konohamaru replied. "Okay, onwards to Shikari's place!" The two Genin followed their Sensei to the location of Shikari's house. Haruhi was happy at the fact that Konohamaru was taking this seriously. Eventually, the three arrived to the nice looking house of the Nara's on top of the small hill.

"What happens if he's here?" Asked Takai.

"If he's here and unwell, we'll go straight to D-Ranks." Konohamaru replied.

"I like the sound of that. And if not...?

"Don't say that." Haruhi said to Takai seriously. The three walked to the door of the house and Konohamaru knocked. When Konohamaru visits the Nara's in the past, Temari had been the one to answer, most likely through her husband's complete laziness, so Konohamaru expected her to come. A minute had passed and there were no answers. Konohamaru repeated the knock and still no answer. "What's wrong? Is he in or not?"

"Doesn't look like it. I don't feel the Nara's usual Chakra." Konohamaru said. Haruhi lowered her head in sadness. "Most likely they headed out for something. If the Nara's are away, most likely it's for a mission of some kind. Maybe the Hokage might know something?" Haruhi instantly rose her head in hope.

"We have to see her now!" Haruhi said in resolution. She lead the way out of the Nara's garden and made her way back to town.

"She really wants to find him, huh?" Asked Konohamaru, but nonetheless followed.

"Tsunade-sama!" Haruhi yelled and barged into the Hokage's office. Her parents were present, along with said Hokage.

"Haruhi?" Said Sakura in confusion, and then grew angry. "You better have a good reason for disturbing your father's training...!"

"Actually we do..." Said the familiar voice of Konohamaru as he walked in along with Takai.

"What is it?" Asked Tsunade.

"One of our students has gone missing." Konohamaru explained. "Shikari Nara. After going to his home, we discovered that Shikari's parents have vanished as well. We want to know if there were any missions or special circumstances which made them leave without trace?" Tsunade layed back on her seat in thought.

"This is a bit of a mystery." Tsunade said in thought.

"Have you searched the house?" Asked Naruto.

"Well we can't exactly break into someone's house, dad!" Screamed Haruhi in annoyance.

"Continue the search for the Nara family." Tsunade ordered. "If they've not returned by tomorrow morning, without some notification of safety of whereabouts, I will alert the Jounins." Haruhi gasped suddenly, while Konohamaru nodded.

"Thank you for your time." Konohamaru said, leading his two Genin away.

"How could she do that?!" Said Haruhi in anger. "We don't know anything at the moment!"

"Exactly." Takai said. "At the time being, it looks as though they may be out for leisure. But if they are absent for more than a day without telling anyone, then it will start to become suspicious."

"They could be plotting a conspiracy for all we know." Konohamaru said.

"But we have to find him as soon as possible!" Haruhi said in resolution. The three made it to the stairs leading down to the ground floor.

"It'll be hard to track a ninja we don't have any leads to." Konohamaru said wisely. "The Leaf Village is big and can take weeks to comb with just us. And if you really want to help so much, don't sneak around..."

"Excuse me?" Haruhi said in confusion. And at once, Konohamaru smacked his palm on the wall, and threw down what appeared to be a camoflauged ninja: Mayura Mana. "Mayura?!" The female ANBU ninja who gave Haruhi advise during her Rasengan training, stood up, brushed off the dust on her ANBU uniform and scratched her head.

"Am I really that noticeable?" Asked Mayura in her innocent-toned voice.

"I thought I felt another presence when I entered this place." Said Takai. Konohamaru waved to Takai.

"There you have it. Even a Genin can spot you." Konohamaru said.

"Figures." Whined Mayura with a pout. "But I heard about your predicament. One of your allies has gone missing, and you've got 'till tomorrow to find him."

"At least your reconaissance is good." Konohamaru said.

"So I thought I'd lend a helping hand!" Mayura said in happiness.

"Do we have to?" Asked Takai. Haruhi growled at him.

"Of course. If you were trained by my mother, I wanna see how much you've learned from her." Haruhi said.

"I guess your coming along, Mayura." Konohamaru said with irritation.

_"And here I thought I was Captain..."_ Thought Konohamaru.

"O~kay." Mayura said in excitement, putting emphasis on the "O". "Now the first thing we should do is gather information! Where and when did you see this Shikari kid last?"

"That would be me." Konohamaru said with a raised hand. "I visited him yesterday at the hospital to check on his wounds."

"Has anyone visited the hospital yet?" Mayura asked.

"He's not there if that's what your thinking." Haruhi said.

"No! The hospital is obviously the last place Konohamaru seen Shikari. If we hurry, his trail can still be fresh." Mayura explained. "And I'm good at tracking."

"Well, guess it's the hospital." Konohamaru said. The four raced to the hospital, in a hopes in finding a lead to Shikari's location. The four arrived at their destination and in their assigned ward. Twenty minutes passed and all that time, Mayura was circling the ward in search for clues but unexpectingly, found nothing.

"That's odd. Shikari must have left at least a single hair or something...or at least a single leaked Chakra..." Mayura said in wonder. Haruhi was waiting expectingly, while Takai and Konohamaru were sitting down, with a hint of stupidity on their faces.

"When will we tell her, Sensei?" Asked Takai in annoyance.

"She's a grown girl, Takai. She can figure it out herself." Konohamaru said in equal emotion. Suddenly, Mayura popped her head from beneath a bed.

"Oh! Hospitals clean their wards after a patient has been, don't they?!" Mayura said in understanding. Haruhi was shocked beyond belief, while Takai and Konohamaru clapped sarcastically.

"Then we were wasting time here!" Haruhi said slightly crestfallen.

"It's okay, Haruhi." Mayura said in encouragement. "We'll focus on the next place."

"We really have no other leads." Konohamaru said in low confidence.

"Well, looks like we'll have to comb the town in a hopes for a clue." Mayura said, much to the dissatisfaction of the other three. Soon after, the Team spent the entire afternoon looking throughout the entire Hidden Leaf Village for even a clue to Shikari's whereabouts. They searched everywhere from the Hokage's tower to the Hokage monument, from the Uzumaki house to the far east side of the Village. There was simply no trace of him, as far as Mayura went. Eventually the sun began to sink over the horizon, and all four of them were losing energy rapidly. "This really is strange. I'm not the best tracker in the ANBU Black Ops, but I know when a trail is leading somewhere. The fact is, Shikari has no trail whatsoever."

"Then now what?" Asked Konohamaru.

"We've combed the entire Village, and yet there's no sign or trace of Shikari." Takai said. "What could have happened to them, Sensei? Could they really have defected from the Village just as the Hokage predicted?"

"Impossible." Konohamaru said. "Shikamaru was chosen to be one of Naruto's counselmen, along with a few others, I doubt he'd abandon the Village if he was offered such an honourable role. Temari follows Shikamaru to the end of the world and back so she's unlikely for that. And Shikari isn't one to ditch the Village."

"Maybe he did..." Haruhi said with despair. "After all...it was because of me he ended up hurt anyway." Takai looked to her.

"That wasn't your fault, Haruhi. Shikari was doing what came naturally to him: the will to defend his friends. You should respect those actions, rather than shun them." Takai said. Haruhi still remained down.

"But that doesn't help get Shikari back." Konohamaru said. "Any ideas, Mayura?" Said girl was thinking during the whole talk.

"I suppose I could get more ANBU teammates to take over. I have a few in mind that are good at tracking, so they should work." Haruhi instantly rose her head.

"But...What about us?" Asked Haruhi.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi. But the Hokage said they only have tomorrow before they become hunted by the Jounin. We don't know what will happen after that, so we need to use our time wisely, and because we only have hours before the Nara's time is up, every second counts. If I replace you with expert trackers, then most likely, it will be a bigger success." Mayura explained. "I'm sorry you can't find your friend, but it's the only way to prevent him and his parents from being hunted."

"But-" Haruhi said before being broken off by Konohamaru.

"She's right. We need to find Shikari and right now the needy details don't matter. Mayura, find Shikari." Konohamaru said. Mayura nodded at this and fled with a Transportation Jutsu.

"Sensei!" Haruhi said despairingly.

"It's for the best." Konohamaru said. "Well, since the day's nearly up, we might as well call it a day. See you two back at the bridge tomorrow." And with that, he turned to his own way. Takai, before leaving, put a hand on Haruhi's shoulder.

"They will find him." Takai said encouragingly before leaving. Haruhi lowered her head in shame as she stood in the empty street alone. She sighed and headed for home.

Once home, she was miserable and saddened at the fact of they couldn't find Shikari through the day. Too sad to eat dinner, too sad to practice Shuriken rounds with Tsukune, even too sad to go on a one-on-one with her father (To which he'd drastically hold back). Eventually she was dismissed to bed to relax after the hard day she had; but even then, she lay in her bed thinking what to do to find Shikari. Her thoughts were on the times when she yelled at him for his laziness, the last mission included. What if he left the Village to get out of everyone's way? What if he couldn't bear another insult to him and left? She had to find him, even if it meant going to extreme lengths to do so. She got up from her bedside, slipped into her clothes once more, got her sandals on and left the sanctuary of her house...

Mayura, in the midst of night, was still looking for Shikari, using the tracking method. Her, along with three other ANBU Black Ops, now equipped with their masks, were still looking for clues in a darkened alley-way.

"Anything?" She asked.

"Nothing!" One said. Suddenly, the four heard footsteps and reacted immediately. Mayura seen with her keen eyes, it was Haruhi, running through the street past the alley. Mayura lowered her eyes in suspicion behind her mask.

"Keep up the search!" She ordered. The three continued, while she ran to the end, to see Haruhi in the distance. "Where are you going in such a hurry? Sleepwalking isn't an obvious answer..."

Haruhi ran through the darkness-filled streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, hoping she won't come across any muggers, in the direction of Shikari's house. Her speed was so tremendous, she tripped over her feet and fell to the ground, badly cutting her knee. She gave a small whimper but cast the pain aside as Shikari's safety was more important than a wounded knee. Within a few minutes, she was outside his doors. Haruhi took a deep breathe and using her shoulders, broke the door from it's hinges, breaking into the house.

"Shikari-kun!!!" She screamed. No answer. "Shikari-kun!!! Please give me a clue where you are!!" She screamed this through wallops of tears. There was again no answer. Until, she let herself look around the house. It was still the same as ever, decorative, furnished and have a hint of cigarette smoke lying in the air. She eventually reached the living room, where Shikari played with his father, Shikamaru, at their favourite pastime: Shogi. This time, on the table, there wasn't a Shogi board, instead, there was a small note. She approached with caution, and when reading the front side, it read: "To Haruhi." Haruhi felt a wave of anxiety and curiosity invade her. Shikari had actually given her a note? She now knew that Shikari had left a clue of some sort, and immediately took it, and unfolded it's contents. What was written on it? Was it for bad purposes or good? So, Haruhi read it's contents very carefully, so to not miss a word, getting the wrong idea. Within it read:

_Dear Haruhi,_

_if you're reading this, someone's broken into my house...sweet. If it was you, then good going. But before I lose my head in talking jibberish, you must be worried sick about where I am. If you've gone a week without crying over me, congratulations. But there is a reason why I left. The fight with Kakashi proved it once and for all: I'm weak. Although it's a drag admitting it, I am weak. I can't bring myself to go through another C-Rank Mission sitting in the sidelines watching you, Takai and Sensei hog all the glory. So, in order to become stronger, my parents and I are taking a trip up the mountains to prepare me for future battles. I dunno what kind of things they'll be teaching me, I'll know it'll be a drag, that's for sure. Nor do I know when I'll be coming back. But when I come back, I'll know for sure that I can help you. Be sure to tell Sensei and the Hokage not to worry 'bout me. Oh, and whack Takai in the head for me, I'd do it myself, but I'm busy. I'm sorry I made you worry if I did, and I hope we'll meet again very soon..._

_Shikari._

Haruhi folded the letter back up and held it to her heart with a tear down her face.

"Why didn't you say so, you moron!" She whispered behind tears. Many emotions filled Haruhi now: joy, guilt, rage, anguish, but out of all of them, joy was the dominant, for now she knew Shikari was safe. Now, she left Shikari's house, after figuring out how to fix the door and walked in the direction of home.

"Find what you wanted?" Asked a familiar voice behind her. She turned around sharply to see Mayura. Fright engulfed her at first, then relief.

"I thought your stealth isn't good. Why didn't I notice you before?" Asked Haruhi.

"When the situation calls for it, it can be good." She replied. Moving back on topic, Haruhi presented Shikari's note but not giving it to her. "Well, at least your breaking and entering was for a good cause."

"Shikari-kun's safe. Him and his parents." Haruhi said.

"I see. Then there's nothing to worry about." Mayura said. "But what gave you the feeling Shikari left a clue here, in the most obvious place?" Haruhi turned her head in shame.

"Intuition. I wanted to find Shikari-kun and his house was my first place." Mayura raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you want to find Shikari for?"

"I said some horrible things to him not long ago. I wouldn't forgive myself if he left with that in his heart." Mayura lowered her eyes on Haruhi.

"I'm sure he doesn't think that about you." She said. "Just wait, he'll return and make you proud." Then, she walked to the pathway out of the house. "You better inform the Hokage first thing tomorrow. Until then, I think you better go home." She put her mask back on and used a Transportation Jutsu to leave Haruhi with her thoughts.

The next day, Haruhi had presented her note to Tsunade with her parents present. Konohamaru and Takai remained outside after recieving their first mission of the day.

"I see. Then his leaving wasn't for bad intentions." Tsunade concluded. Haruhi nodded in confirmation. "Then the best thing to do is wait. Shikari is going with the training to become stronger, that I can't go against. You and the remainder of your team will continue mission work as normal until Shikari returns. Dismissed."

"Understood." She said without complaint. She left the two Hokages in peace.

"I can't believe she got to the answers before Mayura." Sakura said in amazement.

"Well it is easy to believe really, after all, Mayura isn't exactly-" Naruto said, but was cut off when Sakura rushed to him in high speed and held a Kunai to his throat.

"_You better choose your next words carefully_!" She whispered in absolute malice. Naruto gulped. Despite the fact he could easily take her, doing so will be scary.

"Yes, Sakura..." Naruto stuttered. Tsunade chuckled.

"Sakura, the future boss of the future boss."


	16. Suspicions!

**Suspicions!**

Lightning raged around the Uzumaki residence in the cold dead of night, as rain pittered on the tiled roof. It was now a week since Shikari had departed for his training, and Haruhi was finding it hard to sleep late at night, through anxiety, but nonentheless, she fell asleep to not disturb the sleeping Tsukune. The two parents were in the living room, looking at the hard rain. Naruto inspected it, by opening his hand to the tiny hard driplets.

"Yeesh. The rain's really coming down hard." Naruto said, while wiping his hands clean of it's wetness.

"It hasn't been like this for a while." Replied Sakura, joining her husband side-by-side. "Are you okay, Naruto?" Naruto turned to Sakura.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Naruto said, with an instant change of mood.

"Naruto, I know when something's wrong with you, I've been with you for over eighteen years." Sakura said. Naruto looked away. "You've been quite lost in thought for a while now. Is everything okay with Tsunade-sama?" Naruto looked to his wife.

"Yeah, it's going great. But, that's not what I'm thinking of." Naruto said and paused. "It's that kid, Takai."

"What about him? He's a friend of Haruhi's. I doubt he can be of real harm." Sakura said without worry.

"It's been bugging me for a while. Ever since that party. It wasn't as big as it was. But when I was talking to him after his fight with Kakashi, then I began to notice."

"Well, he does seem like a really weird kid. But...what are you getting at?"

"I know I shouldn't think it, but...I'm not even sure he is a Katake." Sakura looked up to Naruto strangely.

"What do you mean?"

"I did my research on the Katake clan. They were an exceptionally strong clan during the Third Ninja War. But, because of the overuse of the soldiers they had, they were slowly shrinking. Until eventually, after a sneak attack by enemy countries, they had so little numbers that they were wiped out." Sakura blinked at this story.

"Could he be the last of his clan?" Sakura asked after the story.

"Impossible. If he was, he'd be as old as Grandma Tsunade. And the records show he is the only Katake of the Hidden Leaf Village. And there's been none since the date of the attack." Sakura lowered her eyebrows in thought.

"That's strange." Sakura said.

"Sakura."

"Mhm?"

"I need a favour of you."

"Of course."

"I need you to do a blood analysis on this kid. You said you've just mastered how to analyse certain blood groups and pinpoint Kekkei Genkai's and genetic relations in the Leaf Village, right?"

"Yeah, but aren't you just getting a little over-excited over Takai-kun? Even if he was lying about his family, what will it gain?"

"I just need to make sure something, that's all." Sakura paused for a moment.

"Well I guess I can do it, but I'll need a sample of his blood and at least a quarter of his Chakra. Without them, it's impossible. And it takes a while to do it. Normally it takes eight hours, but...."

"That's all I need. I'll get those, you do the analysis."

"Agreed."

The next day, Haruhi had arrived at the bridge, ready to do the odd D-Rank missions now. Konohamaru and Takai were all present, with the exception of Shikari.

"Well, looks like we're all here, least what's left of us." Konohamaru said. Haruhi grimaced over this statement. "You okay, Haruhi?" Immediately, Haruhi cheered up.

"Of course." She said happily.

"Alright. C'mon then, we got D-Ranks to do." Konohamaru said with high inspiration.

The three went to the Hokage's tower, where Naruto and Sakura were there alone.

"Where's Tsunade?" Asked Konohamaru.

"She's on official Hokage business." Sakura said.

"Yeah, and I'm stuck here with the boring jobs of Hokage's." Naruto said, leaning his cheek on his hand. "Besides, in Grandma's terms, Hokage business also means gambling and drinks galore." Sakura whacked Naruto over the head, frightening Haruhi.

"Before you two get into your one hundred-millionth fight, can you supply us with a D-Rank mission?" Konohamaru butted in, before Sakura could get Naruto in a head-lock.

"Sure." Naruto said, rummaging through some notes. "There's a farm on the West side of the Leaf Village that wants us to tend to their farm while they deliver some produce."

"Sounds easy." Haruhi said in confidence.

"Sounds boring." Takai mummbled.

"Alright. Let's go, Team." Konohamaru said, heading out, with a shut door.

"Why didn't you stop Konohamaru-kun and ask him to get us a sample of Takai's blood?" Asked Sakura. "That was the perfect opportunity."

"No need, Sakura." Naruto replied. "I already have someone to do it, other than Konohamaru."

The three headed West to the farm for their allocated mission. While walking, Haruhi looked behind her, next to where Takai was walking, to envision her companion Shikari walking along with them, only to lose her vision and see it fade away. She gave a small sigh of sadness, missing Shikari with a burning passion. Then, she felt a hand touch her shoulder, as Konohamaru stood beside her, comforting Haruhi as they walked.

"It's okay, Haruhi." He said softly. "I know you're missing Shikari. But it's only natural. He'll come back soon, and prove he's as strong as ever. Until then, I don't think Shikari would forgive himself, knowing you're worried about him." Haruhi looked to the beardy figure of his Sensei, and smiled.

"You're right." Haruhi replied softly. Takai looked towards them.

"Such emotions for one ally..."

The three arrived at the farm; it was a large farm that had fashioned many fields of wheat and corn, a batch of animals in their designated pens, a set of instructions and three ninja, ready to do it's bidding.

"Seems simple enough." Konohamaru said with enthusiasm. He briefly read the instructions and pocketed it. "Okay, it's a simple case of tending to the crops, making sure they don't wither and making sure the animals are fed. Takai, you handle the animals. Haruhi, you can handle the crops with your large numbers."

"I suppose." Takai mummbled, heading to a nearby barn, as Haruhi called up many Clones to tend to the many wheat, corn and barley fields, by sprinking them with water, supplying them with more soil, or taking the produce out when they were fully ripe. Takai made himself used to the sight of the many animals in the barn, one side was crammed with chickens, a stable section for many horses and stallions and a small mud patch for pigs and sow. He started by sowing some seeds for the chickens to peck away like mad at. They appeared to be liking it, despite the feeder being an enigmatic Genin. Before he could drop the sack and begin feeding the horses with hay, he heard the barn door shut. He never knew there was another force in this barn besides him and the animals. The chickens were flapping their wings in anxiety as Takai spun around to see a figure, garbed in black, hooding it's face, and standing ominously in front of Takai's line of vision. "Who are you?!" Before he could find out, the figure threw numerous Kunai for him. He narrowly dodged, as well as missing the chickens behind him. Takai rushed to action and started the hand seals for his Chains of Fate Jutsu. However, he felt his Chakra being suddenly stopped, and suddenly, collapsing into his deep subconscious.

It wasn't long afterwards that Konohamaru raised his eyes in danger. He was currently helping the real Haruhi tend to a cabbage patch that was proving difficult. He naturally sensed Takai's large amount of Chakra immediately drop, which he found perculiar.

"What's wrong, Sensei?" Asked Haruhi calmly, as she finally seen the look on Konohamaru's face.

"We have to head back to the barn! Takai's in danger!" Konohamaru commanded. Haruhi nodded and two seconds later, she felt a strange urge befall her body.

"You used your Shadow Clone to scout what happened, didn't you?" Konohamaru guessed.

"Yeah! Takai-kun's hurt!" Haruhi wailed in pain. Konohamaru gaped.

"Come on!" Konohamaru yelled as they charged head first for the barn. Haruhi was indeed running with every energy she had, not risking losing her second friend. The two arrived with little time at all, seeing as they were not far from their destination, and noticed the barn door was left wide open. They hurried in, to see Takai, lying face down on the hay-covered ground, with chickens flapping their wings all around him. Konohamaru turned him over to see his unconsciousness state.

"What happened?!" Haruhi screamed in worry.

"He was attacked. His Chakra level decreased so much, he was knocked unconscious. This is strange." Konohamaru identified.

"Why is it?" Haruhi replied.

"Not many ninja can completely rob another ninja of all but a tiny dosage of their Chakra on a whim. Whoever did this, was a skilled ninja and had a purpose for attacking Takai." Konohamaru said with suspicion.

"What can we do?" Asked Haruhi in worry.

"I can temporarily give him a small sample of my Chakra to awaken him, but the rest of his Chakra must be regained on his own." Konohamaru then placed his hand on Takai's chest and his hand glowed slightly as Takai awakened suddenly, giving slight coughs from his lack of Chakra.

"Who did this, Takai-kun!?" Asked Haruhi with a raised voice. Takai on the other hand was breathing frantically, due to his Chakra shortage.

"I...I don't know." Takai breathed. "The guy was hooded." He tried to sit up, but grimaced at something.

"What's wrong?" Asked Haruhi urgently. Suddenly, Takai pulled forth the back of his arm, to which their was a long deep cut from his elbow to the mid-point of his arm. Konohamaru inspected it.

"You lost quite a bit of blood too." Inspected Konohamaru. Takai widened his eyes. Through fear, shock or the sight of the blood, Haruhi didn't know. "Probably the chickens. But that doesn't dispel Takai's attacker. Why would he do this?"

"Maybe he thought Takai-kun was dead and left him for dead." Haruhi suggested. Konohamaru paused.

"Whatever the case, we better get back to work. Failing a D-Rank isn't gonna look good. Haruhi, can you use your Shadow Clones to take care of Takai's job as well as your own? Two will suffice."

"Oh, alright." Said Haruhi.

"Takai, you go rest. If you think you're better, go help Haruhi." Konohamaru continued. Takai reluctantly nodded, remaining quiet throughout.

"What about you, Sensei?" Asked Haruhi.

"I need to guard you two. Obviously Takai's attacker isn't a weak ninja." Konohamaru replied, leaving the two Genin alone in the barn.

At the same time, in the dense part of the woods next to the farm, Takai's attacker stopped the retreat, and came to a small opening in the trees. Suddenly, the ninja pulled away the hood, revealing herself: Maruya.

"Hokage-sama, I have your order." She called, and suddenly, with a teleportation Jutsu, Naruto appeared.

"Great, I knew you'd do it." He said happily. Maruya presented two small phials: one with red thick liquid, most likely blood, and a slightly larger one with an aura of blue Chakra. Naruto took both and pocketed them.

"What's this for, Hokage-sama?" She asked innocently.

"Your Sensei wishes to analyze the person you attacked. It's a matter very important to the both of us." Naruto explained. Maruya tilted her head.

"Okay." She said happily, before taking off the large cloak, returning to her ANBU clothes and masking herself with the cat mask and leaving.

"Tsh! Mayura sure is cheerful."

Later that day, once all their assignments were finished, Team 8 called it quits for the day. Takai, still very shaken from his encounter hours before hand, returned to his apartment on the other side of the Village. His accomodation was only a standard one bedroom apartment with the neccessities of kitchen, couch for resting and bed. He paced violently, despite his injuries.

"_Damn it_!" He cursed to himself. "_I knew this would happen! Playing it cool with their Hokage's cost me dearly! There's no choice. If they find out about my true Bloodline soon, I'm-"_ Before he could continue, he heard a knock on his door, giving him the chills. He dashed forward to see who it was, opening the door violently to see Haruhi. Takai could feel his heart stop at the relief it was her. "What do you want?" Haruhi hesitated.

"Ummm...I came to see how you were. After your-" Haruhi said, before Takai interrupted.

"I'm fine!" He almost bellowed, causing Haruhi to flinch. "I'm...not in the best moods right now..." He turned to close the door on her, giving her the silent signal to get lost, however, a sharp spark forced it's way into Takai, that made him stop in his action of closing the door and keep Haruhi in his eyesight. "On second thought, want to go on a walk?" Haruhi was confused by this offer. One moment ago, he was yelling at her, next he wants to have a walk with her.

"Ummm...sure." Haruhi said almost with hesitence. Soon the two were walking along the streets of the Leaf Village. "You've been acting quite strange since the attack."

"It's only natural. I'm just psyched out, is all." Takai responded.

"Come on, don't be like Shikari." Haruhi continued. "He didn't share his problems, now's your chance to be better than him." Takai paused.

"Shikari...only did the things he did because it was for him alone to bear. I have no problems to share." Takai said. Haruhi still looked at him.

"_Takai-kun_..."

It was soon dawning over night in the Leaf Village and in the Uzumaki household. Haruhi hadn't returned from her walk, so it was only Naruto, Sakura and Tsukune left. Sakura was in a small room she liked to call her "Research Lab", where she would try out different Healing Jutsus through different methods. Presently, she was in there analyzing both the blood structure and Chakra affiliations of Takai. On a small waiting seat in the same room, Tsukune was sleeping on it, waiting for her mother to finish. Sakura couldn't help but giggle at her cute son talk in his sleep about being the greatest Hokage like his father. Soon after, Naruto came in, much to her surprise.

"This used to be a private room, y'know." Sakura joked. Naruto smiled, and leaned over the working Sakura.

"How's it coming?" He asked.

"Well, he's got all the same attributes of a normal ninja. Same Chakra pathway, same everything really." Sakura said. Naruto relaxed slightly.

"_Could he really be..."_ He thought, but before being cut off.

"Wait!" Sakura said with excitement. "Here it is! He has a strand of Kekkei Genkai in his Chakra and blood!"

"I knew it! Find out what one it is. Byakugan? Wood Style? What?" Naruto edged further.

"Patience, Naruto." She laughed. "Although, well done for guessing he wasn't a Katake. Now to find out what clan he does belong to." She took a small droplet of blood that she was working on, and focussed a small dosage of Takai's Chakra together, and began focussing both in one Jutsu. "There's a pattern here..." She focussed harder, and suddenly, she lost all concentration and yelled instantly, jumping from her seat. "I-Impossible!"

"What?! What's wrong?!" Naruto asked in alarm.

"The Kekkei Genkai. I never expected the pattern to be this, but it is!" Sakura stuttered in alarm.

"What is it?!" Asked Naruto.

"The...The Sharingan!" It came like a bullet to Naruto. He felt his body quiver as hard and as fast as Sakura. "His Chakra and blood both have the same pattern. It wasn't transplanted so it...it can only mean one thing....Takai Katake....is really Takai Uchiha!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"I have to find him!" Naruto said urgently, racing out of the room in high speed.

"_How can this be_?" Thought Sakura in great confusion. Suddenly, Tsukune began to awake.

"Mom?" He said very sweetly. She calmed down slightly at his voice. "Where's Haruhi?" Suddenly, her alarm bell began ringing again.

"Naruto!" She yelled. Luckily, he was still there, only to grab his Sage coat, he peered inside the room to see what was wrong. "It's Haruhi! She could be with him!" This got Naruto worried. He raced outside his house and ran across his street to find the whereabouts of Takai. His hunch was correct. His eyes. His hair. His voice. Everything about Takai was related to the person who was of the same clan. He had to speak with him. Find out everything.

Takai and Haruhi arrived in the training grounds in the woods, as spoils for their endless walking. Both looked to the glorious full moon, that was giving the area light and guidance.

"Ahh! Lovely night." Haruhi said in joy. Takai turned away.

"You have no idea, how much it isn't." Takai said with a hint of remorse. But before she could enquire about what he said, she felt an alarming Chakra near her. On the other side of the meadow, was someone else. Unknown to Haruhi, and a cause also unknown.


	17. Treachery! Haruhi Vs Takai!

**Treachery! Haruhi Vs. Takai!**

Haruhi stood confused as to who was standing before her and her companion Takai in the long training meadow at the dead of night. The moon's haze was blocking her vision, so she couldn't get a clear picture.

"Takai-kun, who is that?" Asked Haruhi in slight worry. Takai paused, waiting for the enigmatic shadow to become clear. The shadow turned out to be a girl of around Takai's age. It surprised Haruhi to see her being just a normal girl. She fashioned blood red hair that stretched to her back, although one side of her hair was straight, yet the other side was completely spiked up, making Haruhi question her fashion tastes, but couldn't help but classify it as familiar. The girl wore a small buttonable red blouse with long sleeves stretching to her wrists, and a small mini-skirt making her flesh somewhat revealing. Along with that, she had knee-high sandals that came to high heels. Haruhi was lucky to gather that much information.

"So you've finally come, Mitsuko." Takai spoke aloud. The girl grinned.

"Of course, didn't you think I'd show?" She too spoke aloud.

"Wait! You know her?" Asked Haruhi.

"Of course." Takai said. "Me and Mitsuko should know ourselves. After all...she is my twin sister." Haruhi raised her eyes in shock over this news. Not once had Takai revealed anything about a sister, let alone a twin. But, she couldn't help but put her manners first. She walked to Mitsuko and offered a hand shake.

"Hi, I'm Haruhi." She said kindly. "Teammate of Takai-kun." Mitsuko slapped the hand away gently.

"I don't do handshakes." She said. "For the record, so you know, the name's Mitsuko Uchiha." This immediately flared Takai.

"Uchiha?" Asked Haruhi in confusion. "That can't be right. Takai's a Katake. How can you be siblings if you don't share the same name?" Mitsuko laughed lightly.

"Oh come on, you're the teammate of Takai, and you say that so easily." Mitsuko taunted.

"Well, he is. Me and him went through thick and thin together the past two months." Haruhi explained.

"Then tell me, does it strike you as odd that he can somehow predict happenings before they happen?" Mitsuko asked. Haruhi gasped in shock. "Did it strike you as odd when the first time you came into contact with him, he responded to your thoughts?" Haruhi backed off slightly.

"How do you know about that?!" Haruhi whispered in fear. Mitsuko smiled.

"I'll tell you, then you can answer all the riddles on your own." Briefly, the girl closed her eyes, and when they were open once more, Haruhi cowered in fear: Mitsuko's eyes became blood red, the darkest shade of red and the most evil. And on each of her pupils were three black shaped markings.

"That...!" Haruhi stuttered. She remembered the strange eye that her father's teacher, Kakashi Hatake, possessed; they were identical, only she had it on both eyes. "That's Kakashi's Sharingan!" Suddenly, Takai came beside Haruhi.

"No, it's the Uchiha's Sharingan." He explained. Haruhi looked at him with unbelief.

"And you should know, kid!" Called Mitsuko. "If I possess a sharingan, then as my sibling, so does Takai, making him an Uchiha!"

"Takai-kun! Please...please tell me this isn't true!" Haruhi whispered, backing away from Takai, in case he might attack. He remained remained silent.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi." Takai whispered also, looking away. And when Takai redirected his gaze for Haruhi, his eyes changed colour, they were the exact same eyes of Mitsuko's, only darker, more evil. Haruhi looked into the evil eyes of Takai's Sharingan. Her body trembled with every second she stared at them. "It's obvious in your eyes, Haruhi, you need answers. I don't need your voice to tell me." Haruhi flinched.

"How...How can you have such weird powers?!" Haruhi almost screamed.

"The Sharingan has many abilities, depending on the user. In my case, in a limited range, my eyes can see the open minds of all whose Chakra I sense. Your mind is as open to me as a common book. I knew you had doubts about me when we met. I knew you wanted to befriend me by saving me from Sensei. I knew you weren't injured from training like Sensei told us, but actually attacked by Ayane Hotaru. I knew everything that would unfold in our travels together." Haruhi's anger was growing.

"If that's true..." Haruhi said in a low voice. "Then you knew Shikari had gone, didn't you?!"

"I read his mind the night of his departure, yes." Haruhi's fist was shaking.

"And you insisted on watching me suffer?!"

"I couldn't hint my powers again, or you'd really classify it as strange."

"Why not?! Your powers would have helped us plenty of times during our adventures!"

"The Uchiha are a clan that wasn't meant to be in the Leaf Village. Not after your father defeated the seemingly final Uchiha. The Uchiha's weren't a part of the Leaf Village, and nor do I, not now, not ever."

"What are you saying?!" Takai paused.

"I came to this Village seeking answers, almost five years ago, under the name Takai Katake. I must've scoured the minds of every villager here a dozen times over in that time. But none had the answer I sought."

"What? What answer?"

"That isn't your concern. My sister found a clue to that answer, and you no longer have any use for me." Haruhi flinched.

"Use?! What use was I?!"

"It should be obvious now, Haruhi...You were a use to me, because your were the daughter of the next Hokage. By being close to you, I'd be able to find my answer better with him as your father." Haruhi's eyes widened, and without thinking, she quickly approached Takai and punched the side of his cheek. His face tilted to absorb the impact.

"So that's what I was to you...a worthless tool?!" Haruhi screamed. Takai looked at the enraged Kunoichi through his tilted head.

"Yes you were." Takai said without remorse. He quickly jumped away from Haruhi, who was ready to kick him too.

"Then why did you bring me out here?! Why would you tell me this stuff?!" Haruhi said, now on the verge of crying in sorrow.

"I'll tell you. So I can kill you..." Haruhi's body froze. "I plan to kill you, so the Hokage can be more worried about your safety than tracking me down. And when a tool is of no use to a man, it is discardable!" Suddenly, he fired a flaming Jutsu for Haruhi, to which she swiftly dodged and was knocked back by Mitsuko.

"Heh! Two against one should be a fair advantage!" The evil girl sniggered.

"Mitsuko, stay out of this! This is my fight!" Takai said, not moving from his original spot. Mitsuko gave a pout.

"Show off!" She whined. Haruhi was now on the move, dispite her attack from Mitsuko; she was ready to land a powerful kick to Takai, but he swiftly avoided it and threw Haruhi back.

"I'm not gonna give up on you, Takai!" Haruhi screamed, while trying desparately to land a punch, but all were dodged or blocked. "I can talk to my dad! He can let you stay if you be on our side! We can help you find the answers your looking for! Just please stop it!" Takai caught a punch from Haruhi, making Haruhi look into his fiery eyes.

"So naive!" Takai yelled, kicking Haruhi hard on the stomach, making her roll on the ground very hard. She weakly got up, wiping a blood stain from her mouth.

"What's wrong, Takai-kun?" Haruhi said, now more serious. "This isn't the full extent to your powers, is it? Or is the Sharingan just an ability for show?!" Takai raised a smile. Before Haruhi knew it, a root-like tendril knotted it's way from the ground to Haruhi's wrist. "Ughh! What the hell?!" She tried to use her free hand to loosen the root's grip, but another came to it's aid, by tying the free hand too. Then, hundreds more exploded from the ground, tying every place Haruhi might try and move: feet, neck and waist included. "I-Is this you?!" Takai approached her.

"Yes. There was one more ability I failed to mention. Sharingan users are very good with Genjutsu."

"Genjutsu?!" Haruhi cursed.

"Maybe if you spent less time being an idiot in classes and more time studying Genjutsu, maybe you wouldn't be in this mess." Takai unpocketed a Kunai and held it to Haruhi's neck, seeing the fear in her eyes. "Of course, with the Uzumakis, it's only natural." Takai swiped. But to his dismay, she vanished in a puff of smoke. "What?!" From the ground beneath Takai, it started to erupt, as Haruhi emerged from it and kicked Takai in the face, ejecting his body, making it clash on the ground.

"Never insult my family!" Haruhi said in malice. Haruhi formed a hand seal.

"_If it's true he can read my mind..."_ Haruhi thought. "_Then I have to mix my thoughts together_!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She called, making at least twenty Clones appear. All charged for Takai, making him smile with ease. But before he could have the pleasure of reading her mind, he was stopped, when all the Haruhi's were making up different strategies to attack. He couldn't focus on all of them at the same time, and before long, he was kicked in the stomach by the main Haruhi. "I knew it! You can only focus on reading one person's mind at a time! Sorry, Takai! You picked a wrong Kunoichi to mess with!" Takai got up, still feeling the pressure of the last attack.

"This fight isn't over!"

Naruto made his way through the never-ending streets of the Leaf Village, trying desparately to pinpoint Takai's Chakra in order to locate him.

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed. "He's hiding his Chakra! I can't find him, so long as he's masking himself!" It wasn't until he looked frantically around a four-way junction that he spotted a familiar face: Haruhi. "H-Haruhi!" The girl looked to his father.

"Dad!" Haruhi called, running to him.

"Are you okay?! Where's Takai." Naruto pressed in urgency.

"Me and Takai-kun are in the meadow. I'm only a Shadow Clone. I managed to escape when everyone was distracted." Haruhi explained.

"I see." Naruto said. "You have to take me to the real you. Your life can be in mortal danger." Haruhi's face filled with worry.

"Is Takai-kun telling the truth?! Is he an Uch-" Before she could finish, Naruto covered her mouth from speaking.

"That name's taboo around here. And yes, he is." Naruto said quietly. Haruhi's face fell from sadness.

"But we have to get to the meadow right now! If Takai-kun beats me, he is going to leave!" Naruto's face lit up in shock.

"Then let's go!" Naruto said, leading the charge as both headed back to the meadow.

Takai had just attempted to attack Haruhi, before realising it was a clone and being knocked back by the real clone. This process had happened for the fifth time with more fruitless results for Takai.

"Come on, Takai!" Yelled Mitsuko. "You can take this girl on easily!" Takai, gaining his composture once more, used a fire attack to burn the Clones away, but the real Haruhi surprised attacked him from behind, kicking him away, and exhausting him.

"Takai-kun, you're strong." Haruhi began. "I don't want to fight you. Not because I'm scared, but you're my friend. Please. If you give my dad a chance, you can live here." Haruhi paused, while Takai waited for her speech to end. "Be the Uchiha that bested his ancestors." On saying that, Takai cursed to himself.

"Screw you!" Takai cursed. "I'm not doing this to best any of my ancestors! I'm doing this to restore the name of the Uchiha's across the ninja world! Make them equal amongst all Clans of the world, instead of hiding in the shadows, only whispered in rumours or fairy tales! I don't need the Leaf Village to help me, and I certainly don't need you! And if you insist on becoming a thorn in my side to achieve my plans, then I will strike you down!!!" Haruhi's eyes were wide in shock of Takai's counter-speech. And true to his word, Takai conjured hand seals. "Fire-Style - Chains of Fate Jutsu!!!" Fire engulfed Takai in a circular fashion, until it grew to a large portion of the battlefield, easily amazing Haruhi with it's performance. When the fire eventually cleared, Takai emerged, his arms wrapped in two large metal chains, and at the end of those two chains were giant clubs with it's ends alight in fire. The glow of the fire, and the likewise effect of Takai's Sharingan, were mesmerizing for Haruhi.

"Takai-kun..." Haruhi uttered.

"Talk ends now, Haruhi!" Takai yelled. "If you really want to make me stay, you're going to have to kill me!!!" At once, Takai charged, with both blazing clubs set with the intention to kill. Haruhi reacted immediately, by dodging a brutal swing, that would have ripped Haruhi to shreds. She recovered from her dodge, only to see Takai throwing the club with great force for Haruhi. She dodged once more, feeling the heat of the club as it plunged into the grass. "Too slow!" Takai had gotten behind Haruhi, with one club still in his hand. Haruhi widened her eyes, but didn't get the chance to look behind her, for Takai attacked her. Her back was the point of contact, and she skidded across the meadow floor, the force was so great. She lay on the ground, weakened from her back injured, burned slightly and aching to bits, with a large hole in her t-shirt revealing the wound.

"Hah! Finally got her!" Cheered Mitsuko. Haruhi tried getting back up, but her back was greatly injured.

"Stay down, Haruhi! If you value your life!" Takai called. Haruhi, hearing that comment, got up immediately.

"No chance!" Haruhi said in resolve. "If my friends are in danger, it's not my life that's valued!" Haruhi formed a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She called on hundreds of Clones to her aid. At once, all of them charged to Takai to hold him down. But Takai, despite his mind-reading powers, used his Chains of Fate to destroy any that got in a feet's length of him. Until, he whacked both clubs on the ground, sending a fire shockwave throughout the battlefield, destroying all Clones. The field was covered in smoke, and Takai was catching his breathe from the last attack. "Over here!" Takai reacted immediately, seeing Haruhi emerge from the smoke with a Rasengan in her hand. Because of the smoke, she was inches away from Takai. "Rasengan!" She struck for Takai, but he blocked with his club, forcing the Rasengan into the club. Pieces of rock flew everywhere as the Rasengan destroyed the club, and forcing Takai back. In the aftermath of the attack, Haruhi seen the damage she caused: the club, that was once berethed with flames, was now just a regular attacking club with a gaping hole to it. Takai humphed and bashed it on the ground, causing the club to crumble, leaving just the handle.

"Impressive display." Takai complimented. "If that weapon were me, I'd be dead now." Haruhi remained focussed. "But, now it's time to end this!" Using the undamaged club, he attacked once more. His attacks were slow, but powerful, now that he only had one. Haruhi couldn't get past the endless attacks from Takai, until, Haruhi had to jump in order to avoid a fatal blow. "You're mine!" Takai threw the chain of the destroyed club at Haruhi, and it coiled around her like a snake, until it bound her arms together to her torso.

"_Not good_!" Thought Haruhi, trying desparately to break free. But, Takai threw Haruhi down with the chain, causing her to land painfully, keeping her bound.

"Time to end this!" Takai yelled in victory. He jumped up and forced all his weight on the last club he possessed and was hurtling towards Haruhi. Until, Takai's club landed on Haruhi's right leg with a pain-enduced crack. She screamed in agony, feeling the bone collapse on impact. She couldn't curl in any way to minimize the pain, because of her position. Instead, she could only whimper in pain. "If I wanted, I would have crushed your head!"

"Then why...didn't you?!" Haruhi screamed behind her enduring pain.

"I only spared your life so you can send the message to your beloved father of the Uchiha clan!" Takai said in pride. He let his club dematerialise and evaporate into the air, leaving only the chains binding Haruhi intact. "I pray this is the last time we meet Haruhi. If you even try to come after me after I leave, if you survive, I will show no mercy in killing you." He walked off, towards his sister's direction.

"That was cold." Mitsuko commented.

"The only way to end a friendship." Takai ended. Haruhi lay on the grass, cold, wounded deeply, and in a state of despair.

"_T-Takai...-kun...why would you do this_...?" Haruhi thought, tears trickling down her eyes. She could feel blood leave her leg. "_Why would you...attack your friend..._" She could feel her heart becoming slower. "_Why...why...?"_ She could feel herself go unconscious.

"WHY?!!!!" Haruhi screamed as loud as her lungs could go, echoing through the trees. And, a burst of Chakra emerged from Haruhi, so great, it shook the land it stood on. So immense, the chains burst on at it's audacity, freeing Haruhi. Takai, widened his eyes and looked around, to see Haruhi, standing, with the remnants of the chains cast aside. And all around her, was evil Chakra, with her eyes feeling the same evil.

"I-Impossible!" Takai yelled.

"She shouldn't be standing, let alone still challenge you!" Mitsuko said in astonishment. Takai seen the wound caused by his attack on her leg, slowly, the wound on the skin evaporated, as if nothing was done to it at all.

"Insant regeneration?!" Takai identified in awe. "Haruhi never had this power!" Longer, Takai continued to stare at this evil manifestation Haruhi had conjured on herself. "What Jutsu is this?!" For the first time, fear had engulfed Takai.

Meanwhile, a long way away, the Clone Haruhi and her father witnessed the huge surge of Chakra from the real Haruhi, as it purged the clouds.

"What the?!" Naruto whispered. Suddenly, the clone began screaming in agony, falling to her knees and clutching her forehead, raising the attention of her father. "What's wrong, Haruhi?!"

"My...my head!" She screamed. "It's burning!" Naruto widened his eyes. He paused briefly with shock but put a hand on the Clone.

"It's okay. You're a Clone. You've done your business. You can go now." Naruto said.

"Thanks." And with that, the Clone vanished, easing her pain.

"_This Chakra_." Naruto thought and continued running through the dense woodland to the real Haruhi's location. "_It's as familiar to me as my own palm! But...how could he be within Haruhi too?!"_


	18. Awakening! The Beast Within Haruhi!

**Awakening! The Beast Within Haruhi!**

Haruhi stood, completely healed of injuries and fatigue, staring down the two fear-stricken Uchiha siblings. All around her, blood red Chakra flowed out of her. Her eyes, matching the same colour of Chakra, whereas her body mimicked her eyes ferociousness. Takai regained himself.

"We don't have time with you!" He yelled, quickly activating his Sharingan, and forced Haruhi into a Genjutsu. The same vines coiled around her from the ground, but, on contact on Haruhi's flesh, they vanished. "What?! Impossible! She didn't even lift a finger to negate it!" Haruhi made her move, speeding across the field to Takai, and threw a bone-crushing punch to Takai's cheek, making contact instantly. Mitsuko watched as Takai was blown back by Haruhi's brute strength.

"I've had it with you!" Screamed Mitsuko, kicking Haruhi in the back with great force. But, Haruhi didn't flinch or move on it's contact. Mitsuko's fear returned as she seen Haruhi's red eyes glare with malice towards her. Suddenly, the red Chakra formed around Haruhi's hand and swiped down Mitsuko, sending her screaming in pain and skidding on the grass. When she came to a halt, she moaned in pain, that her arm was cut with a deep wound. Then, she fell unconscious.

"Mitsuko!" Yelled Takai in horror, recovering from his own injury. Quickly, he sent a powerful Flame Jutsu for Haruhi, but she stopped it with her bare hands. Takai seen Haruhi's palm on the fire: the skin was melting and instantly regenerating back and forth. Until, Haruhi finally made a sound, making an ear-stabbing scream, sending Chakra bursting everywhere, and destroying the Fire Jutsu. "How is this possible!?" Haruhi charged for Takai once more, but in the nick of time, he avoided a killing slash by mere inches. On the counterattack, Takai kicked Haruhi in the stomach, but she didn't react to the pain. Haruhi slowly turned her head towards Takai.

"_You should have listened to Haruhi when you had the chance_!" She said with a different tone. Takai side-rolled to avoid a ground-shaking punch. Takai regained himself.

"You refer to yourself as if you're not Haruhi! If that's true, what have you done to Haruhi?!" Takai yelled, but silently cursed to himself. What he said sounded as if he cared for her.

"_I'm not Haruhi! Just someone taking over for a while_!" Haruhi echoed with a fear-filled voice. She charged once more, but Takai dodged again.

"If you're not Haruhi, then who are you?! How were you able to cast off my Genjutsu and how can you regenerate injuries?!" Haruhi continued to stare.

"_If you want to know, then you'll have to defeat me first_!" And once again, charged.

Naruto, fear and anxiety in his heart, raced for the battlefield of Haruhi and Takai. He grew even more concerned when feeling the shockwaves of Chakra pass by, partially shaking him up. Until, he felt a presence near him. Not physically, but mentally.

"**Do you feel it, Naruto?**"The voice called. "**The Chakra flowing in the child you love?"**

"I don't need you to tell me!" Naruto countered. "But you've got some explaining to do! Why does my daughter have your Chakra?!"

"**It is simple and logistic. Children inherit the genes of their parents; hair, eyes, skill traits, what the girl has gained from me was through you. How else would the child have large amounts of Chakra, strong enough to fight on par with the Copy Ninja?"** The voice continued.

"I thought it was because I am a Kage level ninja, and therefore pass my high Chakra level on to Haruhi!"

"**Heh, there was a time when you would dream yourself saying that." **

"Don't change the subject! Konohamaru or Grandma Tsunade are good examples! They're good ninja because of their bloodline of Kage-level ninjas. That's what I thought Haruhi's high Chakra was because of!"

**"So naive! Your child is the way she is through me. I passed my Chakra onto her on birth. Even though she can't form a tail, her power should be greater than mine when you would want me to lend you Chakra! Truly is a pity though, I'd loved to have taken that girl's body!" **

"Shut up! You had your way with me! I wouldn't forgive myself if you had the power to take control of Haruhi!"

**"You can rest easy. But you should be thanking me! If it weren't for my healing Chakra, the girl would be dead!"** Naruto paused.

"Sometimes, death is better than being a Jinchuuriki...."

Takai dodged another death-filled swing of Haruhi's powerful Chakra-extended arms. He took a moment to compose himself, but that moment proved treacherous as Haruhi used her free hand to swing Takai away, so hard that it knocked him off his feet and tumble across the grass. Weakly, Takai persisted.

"I can't win like this." He groaned. "Her speed and strength is almost tenfold of what it used to be. Also that form's got a mind of it's own, meaning she's not going to hold back in killing me. It's that Chakra!" Haruhi attacked again, but Takai dodged once again. "It manifested when Haruhi was dying. It must have triggered when Haruhi was inches from death. I would imagine the only way to stop it, is to exhaust that external Chakra source keeping Haruhi moving...It's worth a try." Takai charged for Haruhi and formed hand seals. "Fire-Style - Encircling Flames!" With great speed, Takai ran a ring around the demonic Haruhi, creating a flaming ring in the process. Takai formed one last hand seal, and the fires engulfed Haruhi, creating a pillar of fire encirling her. "That should buy me time..." Takai then proceeded to encircle himself with fire, bringing out his dual-clubs, known as the Chains of Fate. "If I can get close to Haruhi for just a second, I can do it!" Suddenly, Haruhi's dark Chakra burst forth from the fire circle.

"_Like that will defeat me!"_ She growled menacingly. Takai had to be thrown back by this. Always did he see the nice, kind and determined expression of Haruhi. But looking at the demon taking control of Haruhi's body, it appeared as if none of those emotions existed in her.

"_This is it."_ Takai thought.

"Let's go!" Takai yelled with a battle cry. Haruhi did the same, raising her palm to charge up a double-sized Rasengan in her hand. While charging, Takai seen that this Rasengan was also burning and healing her hand, just like when he burned it earlier. Finally, he came inches from her and swung with all his might against the Rasengan. Instantly, Chakra swirled everywhere, along with pieces of the club. The force was so immense, Takai held for dear life onto the club, trying to look for an opening into the mass Chakra. Then, he found her, deeply covered by the immense Chakra. "It's time to do it!" He closed his eyes tightly, and what emerged from his eyes, was a completely different shape to his Sharingan. It was still red, but now the three patterns of the red eyes formed a black triangle with a red circle in the centre of it. Both eyes had this design now.

"Mangekyou Sharingan!!!"

The Chakra, that was once flowing unnaturally out of Haruhi, began to cease. The red Chakra began to disappear into thin air, until all that was left was a lone Haruhi, using just her bare hands on a destroyed club.

"T-Takai...-kun..." She whispered.

"Haruhi!!!" Takai cried. With great force, he swung the destroyed club right for Haruhi's chest, which made brutal impact, hearing the crack of her wrist that was caught in the way of the impact, along with several ribs as she was blown back by the extreme force. Both clubs crumbled to the ground, the same as Haruhi was lying on the ground severely wounded, particularly to her palm, which didn't have enough time to heal one last time. "I swore never to use my Mangekyou Sharingan...as long as I reside in the Leaf Village...especially never to use Hiteishin, my most powerful ability." Haruhi still lay on the ground, conscious to hear Takai's words.

"Wh-what...was that...power...?" She asked.

"It's another of the Uchiha's clan's Jutsu. The Mangekyou Sharingan is the next stage in the Sharingan's ability cycle. But all users of it have particular abilities. My Hiteishin negates all Chakra in a given field. I knew you'd attack me head on...you relied on that Chakra to attack and keep that form. Once I could negate those, the battle was over." Suddenly, clouds formed overhead, and rain began to pour down on the defeated warriors. Haruhi clenched the mud in defeat.

"Please...please don't go...Takai-kun..." Haruhi mumbled against the patter of the rain. Takai lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi. I wish you never befriended me. Otherwise you wouldn't be lying there." Takai said, now walking away. "Because I said I would kill you if you followed me after leaving, I'll spare your life just this once...if you don't die of your injuries accumulated. Goodbye, Haruhi. I pray you live to forget me." Takai walked to his unconscious sister, lifted her by his shoulder, and walked away, leaving Haruhi going unconscious in the muddy grass.

"T-Ta...kai..-kun..." With those last words, Haruhi drew a solitary tear that joined the water on the grass, and fell unconscious.

The rain continued to pat down on the defeated girl, washing away the blood of her injuries, but not enough to stop the pain, in her body and her heart. Then, a figure finally approached the unconscious Haruhi. The figure emerged from the rain as her father, Naruto, making it to the battlefield to save his daughter, but too late to stop Takai.

"I'm sorry...you had to be caught up in this battle...Haruhi."

Haruhi couldn't describe the next few hours - with too much negative emotions flowing in her, it was hard to make out. Shikari and Takai left, although one was only temporary, she was feeling alone. She was covered in wounds and was suffering a broken arm, several broken ribs and the Chakra keeping the bone in her leg had diminished, so she suffered from a semi-broken leg too. But altogether, she was afraid - afraid of what the future will hold. Will Shikari return to support her? How will the team survive without Takai? Will they go to normal or chase after them? She wanted to die there and then to not go up against the choices that will come to those questions, until she woke up at last.

She was expecting to be in the hospital, but instead, she was in her home, on the bed she sleeps in. She jolted upwards to look around her. Everything was like nothing happened, but of course they did.

"Ahhh, you're finally awake!" Called a familiar voice. She turned around to see her father, leaning against the wall.

"Daddy!" She screamed in anguish. She wanted to jump up and hug him, to end her sorrow, but her body ached, causing her to flinch.

"Careful. You're still not propely healed up. It's gonna take a few days before Sakura can heal you completely." Naruto said, laying Haruhi back on her pillow. She gave a sad look.

"Then, Takai-kun really is gone..." She said with sorrow.

"I sent numerous ANBU squads after Takai, but they couldn't pick up any trails. I'm sorry, he's probably as far away as the Leaf Village as possible by now." Haruhi looked down in sadness.

"What do I do now?" Asked Haruhi, ready for crying.

"Shouldn't it be obvious? You're going after him." Naruto said. Haruhi gaped.

"But daddy! Takai-kun said he'd kill me if I'd follow him!" Haruhi said immediately.

"Didn't stop me." Naruto said with his head held high. "You and I are on the same boat. However, this time, I want you to succeed."

"What happened? It was with an Uchiha, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Naruto said slowly. "But, I don't feel like telling you that story." Haruhi paused for a moment.

"If you don't feel like telling me that story, can you answer this question?" Haruhi asked. Naruto rose an eyebrow. "What was that power I used to fight Takai?" Naruto lowered his head.

"I won't patronize you by saying it's nothing, Haruhi." Naruto began. "The power that you possess is the power from an ancient beast known as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

"Nine-Tailed...Demon Fox...?" Haruhi whispered in wonder.

"Yes. A powerful spirit known as a Bijuu. Thirty years ago, the Demon Fox attacked the Hidden Leaf Village, thanks to Akatsuki I might add. And thanks to the Fourth Hokage, the the power of the Fox was sealed away. You possess a small portion of the Nine-Tail's Chakra that can regenerate given enough time. Although the power you have is just a millionth of it's overall power, it's still enough to defeat almost any foe that comes your way." Haruhi listened closely. "But Haruhi. It's important that you don't rely on this power too much. If you do, you'll come to depend on it too much, so much that it will take over you." Haruhi was in shock by this tale.

"H-How did I get this power?" Asked Haruhi.

"...From me." Naruto answered. Haruhi gasped. "I possess the Demon Fox's Chakra. The Fourth Hokage sealed the Nine-Tails inside me when I was born. I can tap into it's power to be almost unstoppable. But despite me being a Kage-level ninja, I still don't know how to use part of it's Chakra to my advantage, without it taking over me. That is why I use my own Chakra for battles."

"You have a stronger power than mine, and you still became Hokage without using it?" Asked Haruhi in wonder.

"Yes. And neither should you. After all, you do wanna succeed me, right?" Naruto said with a smile. Haruhi gave a determined nod.

"Although this power is strong, I'll only use it when I really need to." Haruhi said, clenching her bandaged-fist. She then recieved a rub on the head by her father.

"That's the spirit. For now, you have to concentrate on healing, to go after Takai. His power overcame yours, so you need to be at full strength to get through to him." Haruhi was about to end the conversation, before feeling something in her pockets. She took out a blue Leaf headband, that was unmistakingly Takai's.

"Can this help?" Asked Haruhi. Naruto took it and smiled with a hint of sadness.

"And so history repeats itself." Naruto whispered. "Rest up, Haruhi. You've got three days to be at full strength. On the fourth day, I'll have assembled the best team for you to go after Takai with." And so, Naruto left, leaving Haruhi shellshocked by the news of her immense powers...


	19. The Will of Fire Passes On!

**The Will of Fire Passes On**

It was early in the morning for Haruhi as she lay in her bed, healing from her injuries on the previous day, only meeting her father a few hours previously. Right beside her was her brother: Tsukune, getting ready for another day at the Ninja Academy, by getting dressed into his red t-shirt and blue shorts and preparing his "Ninja Thoery" textbooks. Before leaving, he looked to the bed opposite his, to see Haruhi, perfectly awake.

"Jeez, Nee-san. You really need to stop getting hurt all the time." Tsukune said without hesitation.

"If you mean I do this stuff deliberately, think again, you little twerp!" Haruhi said in an urging tone to attack Tsukune.

"N-No! I just...hate seeing you hurt, Nee-san..." Tsukune said, rather taken aback by his statement previously. Haruhi loosened her tension.

"It isn't my fault, y'know." Haruhi said, looking down on her covers. Tsukune, too, looked down in shame, knowing full well what happened with her teammate.

"Well, I best be going. Iruka-Sensei's not gonna like it if I'm late again." Tsukune said, taking his leave.

Tsukune, the second child of Naruto and Sakura, now began his long journey as a ninja, hoping to make his father and mother proud, just like Haruhi. After a long journey to the Ninja Academy, Tsukune finally arrived, just in time for the starting bell to ring. Just as quick as he arrived at the Academy, so to did he reach his classroom on time, with the eagerly-awaiting teacher Iruka. The young Uzumaki sat in his double-desk with nobody sitting beside him; the other children felt they didn't want to disturb the son of the Hokage, as he worked, not that Tsukune minded. And so, Iruka hushed the class to start.

"Alright, before we begin today's lesson, we got a new student joining our class today." Iruka began. This got the other children greatly anxious, Tsukune particularly, out of curiosity. "Alright, come on in!" The classroom door opened, and the new student that walked in greatly astounded Tsukune: a girl around his own age with long blonde hair, tied together at the near-end with a ribbon, brown-eyes, wore a bright blue vest and equally-coloured skirt. Along with these features, she had a nice cute face to top it off. "This is Shiori Hanabusa, everyone. She came from a town not so far from here. She'll be joining us in our lessons, so everyone be sure to make good friends with her." There was some murmurring occuring within the class. Suddenly, the girl spoke.

"Where do I sit?" She asked. Tsukune couldn't help but feel a little warmth in hearing her voice.

"Ahh, that's right." Iruka said with realisation, and quickly scanned the class for a vacant seat, and noticed the one beside Tsukune. Iruka gave a slight laugh under his breathe. "Okay, Shiori, you get to sit next to Tsukune Uzumaki." Tsukune jumped at this statement with a small gasp, and obviously got the class murmurring more. "Now, be sure to get along with him, he's the next Hokage's son." Shiori nodded and took her seat on the right side of Tsukune, laying her necessary lesson inventory on it, while Iruka begun the lesson on how to and how not to use a paper bomb.

"Ummm, hi..." Began Tsukune to Shiori. The girl tilted her head towards Tsukune.

"Hello." She said with tranquility. "I heard your dad's meant to be the Hokage soon."

"Yeah, of course he is." Tsukune said with happiness that she didn't ignore him. "He is the strongest ninja in this village." Shiori paused.

"Are you any strong?" She asked. Tsukune gaped.

"Well, I'm not...kinda." Tsukune said, with a blush of embarrassment setting in place. "But Haruhi-nee-san is strong!"

"Oh, you have a sister?" Shiori asked.

"Yup! She's getting better after a fight she had with some bad guy, but she's gonna beat that guy up for sure next time!"

"It sounds like you like your sister very much." Shiori said happily.

"Totally." Tsukune replied. Over the course of the lesson and indeed, right through the entire school day, Tsukune and Shiori had good talks together, about their past experiences, about their current selves; such as their hobbies, likes and dislikes and even Tsukune helped Shiori with her work; because he was the son to Naruto, and through him was Tsukune able to know how things worked in the ninja world. Soon the bell rang and it was time to depart. "Well I better head home and see how Nee-san's doing."

"Ummm, can I come with you?" Asked Shiori. "I'd like to meet the Hokage in person, and thank him for letting me and my family stay here." Tsukune paused for a moment.

"You bet."

Sakura stood on the window of her and Naruto's bedroom, which had a nice view of the street from where she stood. Soon, Naruto came to join her.

"How was it?" Sakura asked.

"Good." Naruto replied. "I managed to talk Hanabi into it. I couldn't find Konohamaru, must be on a mission. And if my Clone makes it in time, we could make someone extra." Sakura smiled and then looked out the window.

"I never thought the Uchiha would be back." Sakura said with a hint of sadness.

"We'll set things right this time." Naruto replied. "And if we can find out what Takai's true intentions are, we can be sure to overcome the mistakes we made in the past." Sakura looked to her husband and smiled. But before they could embrace, she seen a familiar sight walk past: Tsukune, coming with Shiori.

"Oh? Isn't that the child you allowed into the Village?" Asked Sakura, looking down upon them as they approached. Naruto glimpsed down too.

"Yeah. Looks as though our boy's found himself a new play-mate." Naruto said with a smile and then, jumped out of the open window, using his Chakra to give him safe landing so he was right in front of the two children. "Yo!"

"Oh, hey dad!" Tsukune said happily. Shiori, however, was down on one knee, lowering her head to Naruto.

"It's an honour to meet you, Naruto-sama!" She squeaked. Tsukune looked at her, as well as Naruto.

"Ummm, it's okay, kid, you don't have to do that." Naruto said in modesty. But Shiori still bowed her head in respect to Naruto.

"I want to thank you, Naruto-sama, for allowing my family and I to stay." Shiroi squeaked again. Naruto smiled at this, and bent to Shiori's level.

"Your welcome." He said, giving Shiori a small rub on the head. On noticing Naruto on the same level as her, Shiori bent down lower, until her face was nearly touching the ground. seeing this, Naruto took her by the t-shirt and pulled her to her feet. "And it's okay, you don't need to bow like that; I'm just as ordinary as the people you find in this Village." At first, Shiori was uncomfortable, but she felt at ease.

"Besides, if we're friends, Shiori, you'll be seeing my dad often." Tsukune added. Naruto gave a small laugh at this.

"Y'know, I can really see you two becoming a nice couple in the near future!" Naruto said with happiness. But before Tsukune or Shiori could dismiss that possibility, Sakura, who was watching from the window, jumped down as the same manner as Naruto, and gave the latter a bone-crushing punch on the head as she came down. Naruto was rolling in the ground with pain, scaring the children.

"You don't make wild assumptions with children, you idiot!!" Yelled Sakura. Naruto tried to crawl away from the raging Sakura, but she dragged Naruto back with the ankles, to clobber him more.

"I-Is that your mom, Tsukune?" Asked Shiori. Tsukune timidly nodded. "Does she attack the Hokage often?"

"Only when he's doing something silly..." Tsukune replied.

"If-If your father's becoming Hokage soon, why doesn't he fight back?" Asked Shiori. "Is he so strong, that he could kill her with his Kage-level Jutsu? Or is she stronger than him?"

"It's the second one and you know it!!" Sakura screamed, while ordering Naruto down a tree, to which he climbed to escape Sakura. Both children cowered in fear over Sakura's brute strength.

Later, once Sakura had stopped trying to beat Naruto up (By noticing Haruhi had gotten out of her bed to tell them to keep it down), Shiori had left for her home, as Tsukune practiced Shuriken rounds rather dreamily of his new friend. Finally, Tsukune threw a Shuriken so that it hit the bulls-eye with perfection.

"You've gotten good." Said a familiar voice to Tsukune. He turned round to see his sister, Haruhi, standing in the open canopy; she was still in her night gown with her injuries still being healed from her fierce battle earlier.

"Nee-san! You shouldn't be out here!" Tsukune warned. Nonetheless, Haruhi hopped down onto the grass, despite her bare feet and sat herself on a small garden armchair.

"Nah, it's pointless staying cooked up in that room, if I got a big day coming up to prepare for." Haruhi replied. Tsukune still looked to her big sister with unease. "Besides, I think my injuries are starting to get better." She showed Tsukune her arm, which had completely healed from it's injuries. "Here, let me try." She took her hand forward.

"Okay." Tsukune said, handing her a Shuriken. "You won't bulls-eye though, you're sitting down and you're still tired." Haruhi took her time, threw the Shuriken and got a bulls-eye, to which she smiled contently at. "Ahh! You're just showing off now!" Tsukune continued to throw his Shurikens, but miss on every throw.

"Mom tells me you have a new friend." Haruhi finally spoke up. Tsukune blushed immediately, holding his fire from another Shuriken.

"Well...umm...yeah. I guess so..." He stuttered, before going off to fire more of his weapons at the targets.

"And dad also tells me you make a cute couple." Haruhi said with a laugh. Tsukune flinched before throwing a Shuriken.

"Shut up! We're just good friends!" Tsukune yelled to her sister, giving her feeble punches to her head. Haruhi laughed once more, before catching Tsukune's wrist, ending his barrage.

"But can I offer you some advice?" Asked Haruhi, dropping her laughing act. Tsukune too, stopped his tantrum and nodded. "Protect your friend with everything you have, Tsukune." Tsukune flinched.

"Why tell me this, Nee-san?" Asked Tsukune.

"Trust a girl who knows. I had two best friends, and because of my being an idiot, both are gone..." Haruhi said in deep remorse, holding her hand to her chest and curling her visible toes.

"Don't worry, Nee-san. I'll protect Shiori just like you said. And you're gonna get both your friends back! I'm sure of it!" Haruhi smiled with comfort now.

"Thanks, little brother."

The next day was the Ninja Academy's day off, to which Tsukune wanted to take advantage of by practicing Shuriken rounds with Shiori, to which he invited her over the previous day. He was now preparing his small projectile bag with Kunai and Shuriken. On reaching his front door, he noticed Shiori to be waiting for him there. The young Uzumaki smiled as he reunited with his new friend.

"I don't know this place very well, Tsukune. Do you know the perfect place for this training?" Asked Shiori.

"Trust me, Shiori, I know all the good spots. Me and Nee-san know every good place to train!" Tsukune said in self-esteem. The two approached a small woodland area and walked along a path, with bushes and trees surrounding them on both sides of the path.

"This Village has so many trees." Shiori said, admiring the many types of trees, from birch to ash to oak.

"I guess the Hidden Leaf Village is kind of-" Tsukune said, but was cut off, by hearing a twig crack in the background. This alarmed him severely. He was the son of the next Hokage, so kidnappings would be possible. Not to mention they were really isolated from the urban parts of the Village, so it was dangerous for them to be there in the first place.

"What's wrong?" Asked Shiori in fright.

"I dunno. I've a keen sense of Chakra, and I sensed that twig was snapped by a ninja..." Tsukune said, trying to act mature as possible, in order to keep Shiori calm and stay on guard.

"D-Do you think it was just one of the Leaf Chuunins?" Asked Shiori, staying close to Tsukune.

"Possibly." Tsukune said, looking all around. "We better head back. There's a-" But, to his dismay, many Shuriken fired right towards Tsukune. The young Uzumaki unpocketed a Kunai and used it to deflect fatal blows towards him, or ones heading for Shiori, others simply wizzed past. When the Shuriken barrage stopped, Tskune became exhausted deflecting the weapons; he suffered many scratches for the ones that got lucky to get past.

"A-Are you okay?!" Cried Shiori in worry.

"Shiori, get back to the Village..." Tsukune said, puffing with exhaustion. "Get my dad! He can-" But a shadowed figure joined the fray, and knocked Tsukune away from Shiori with a brutal kick to the chest. The impact was so strong, that Tsukune was blown away by the sheer force, collided with a tree and fell in agony.

"Tsukune!" Shiori screamed in worry. But she felt a hard blow to the head, which rendered her unconscious, as she was caught by the attacker. Tsukune got up, and was ready to fight the ambush, but the attacker came to Tsukune. The attacker was a largely built male ninja, clearly shown by his many muscles; he wore a black vest and ragged pants, and Tsukune noticed him to have a ninja headband that looked like the Hidden Stone Village's; the man's hair was spiky and pure silver, with his eyes to match it. Shiori lay under his arms, unconscious.

"Urgh! Let her go!" Yelled Tsukune attempting a punch, but the attacker stopped it with his free hand and threw Tsukune against the tree, pinning his hand against it.

"Listen, kid! My quarrel's not with you, nor your little friend! It's with your Sixth Hokage!" He growled, menacingly.

"What do you want with my d-...Hokage?!" Tsukune yelled in anger, not wanting to reveal he is the Sixth Hokage's son.

"He owes me a fight, that I'm dyin' ter settle!" He barked. "You've got an hour ter move your little meatless bonebag over to your Hokage and tell'im to meet "Silver Wolf" in the forest! If yah don't, your little friend's gonna be my new target!" Tsukune hesitated in fright.

"L-Leave her alone!" Yelled Tsukune. "She never did anything to you!" Tsukune tried to squirm free, but the "Silver Wolf" pinned him down harder.

"I know! I just thought I'd use her as a persuasion method. Get the drift?!" He growled. Tsukune looked to Shiori in desperation.

"You better not hurt her! If you do-" Tsukune warned.

"Don't worry, kid!" He growled. "I only hurt the prey!" He growled, unpinning Tsukune's wrists, and using a Transportation Jutsu, vanished with Shiori. Tsukune couldn't believe what happened, but had no time to waste. He ran with all his speed back to the Village.

"_I have to get my father_!" Thought Tsukune. "_If he really is the strongest in this Village, beating that big blockhead's gonna be easy for him_!" Suddenly, Tsukune tripped, still weak from the injuries he sustained. But he continued forward. "_Nee-san...I have to keep to your words_!"

A rather lonely Konohamaru made his way through the main street of the Leaf Village. He gave a long drolling sigh.

"First Shikari leaves for training, then Takai goes AWOL, now Haruhi's beaten up! I think I better talk to senpai about getting new students, ones who don't run off or get beat up all the time and..." He got himself to a crossroads, but before doing more mental rants, he banged into someone running towards him. Because the person was so small, Konohamaru only backstepped a few inches to absorb the impact, but the little runner fell on his backside. "Whoa! Watch were you walk." Konohamaru noticed it was Tsukune, rubbing the place of his contact. "Oh, hey! senpai's kid! How yah-"

"Outta the way!" Tsukune yelled, running past Konohamaru. He looked towards the speeding Tsukune.

"Honestly." He sighed, and using a high speed Wind Jutsu, he caught up with Tsukune in a flash and stopped him by his waist, clutching to his red t-shirt. "What's the rush that you can't say hi to your sister's Sensei?" Desperately, Tsukune tried to get past Konohamaru, but his grip was too tight.

"Lemme go, you big jerk! I need to see my dad!" Tsukune cried in a childish tantrum.

"Your dad's busy doing some errands. Hey, I'm the next big thing, maybe I can help?" Konohamaru suggested. "You got a Kunai stuck up a tree, or something?" Finally Tsukune stopped to tell Konohamaru.

"My friend's been kidnapped by a ninja calling himself Silver Wolf! He said he'd let her go if my dad agrees to fight him!" Tsukune bellowed. Konohamaru fazed in shock.

"That is big." Konohamaru said with danger. "Time is on the essence with your father, and it'll take a while before he's free again." Tsukune looked crestfallen.

"Then what do I do?!" He screamed in sadness. Konohamaru smiled.

"You're the son of the Hokage, aren't yah? Think with your heart, and not your head! What do you wanna do?" Konohamaru said with high ambition. Tsukune paused slightly, knowing what he must do.

"I...I wanna save Shiori myself!" He said. Konohamaru smiled.

"Then let's do it!" He said.

"But what about Shiori?!" Tsukune said in desperation. "If that big guy finds out we're up to something, he'll kill her!"

"Getting a hostage out was never my strong points." Konohamaru said. "But, I got an idea that will save your friend." Tsukune's face brightened a little. "You're good with Kunai, right?"

"A-A little." Tsukune said, thinking back to the times Haruhi first taught him how to throw one. It was when Tsukune first joined the Academy, and the two Uzumaki siblings were practicing together, while their parents watched in the canopy. Eventually, Tsukune hit a target, but not in the centre.

"_I got one, Nee-san_!" He cheered happily.

"_Nice one_!" Haruhi said in joy. "_But remember, you have to hit the target in the middle. You need to throw it as hard and as fast as you can, that way it won't lost speed and fall_." Haruhi demonstrated, by throwing it as hard as she could, which wooshed and pierced the target in the centre.

"_You're awesome, Nee-san!_" Tsukune said in awe. The two parents admired the view in pride.

"_Sure brings back memories, huh?"_ Sakura said.

"_Yeah._.." Naruto said softly, not wanting to ruin the moment. Tsukune remembered it like if it were yesterday.

"Are you sure? I am only doing it to make you look good." Konohamaru said. "If you're not sure, I can take a few Chuunin with me and take out that guy." Tsukune looked at Konohamaru and hardened his resolve.

"I'll do it!" Tsukune said with high motive. "You just tell me what to do, and I'll do it!" Konohamaru smiled and patted Tsukune's head.

"You're so much like your sister..."

Meanwhile, deep in the woods, the enigmatic Silver Wolf sat at a log, continually looking at the sun through the trees.

"You better not be late, kid!" He growled in impatience. He glanced over to Shiori, who had her hands tied behind her back, tied to a tree and was gagged at the mouth. She was conscious, and was glaring at the marksman with fear in her eyes. "I really don't like killing kids." Suddenly, there were rustling bushes nearby. "Who's there?!" The rustling stopped, only to reveal Tsukune once more. Shiori, in seeing her new best friend, gasped behind her gag. "You...!"

"Hi." Tsukune said cooly, leaving the sanctuary of the bushes.

"Well?!" Silver Wolf growled. "Did you get your Hokage or not?!" Tsukune paused briefly, like if he were thinking.

"Sorry, he said he was too busy to fight you." Tsukune explained with an embarrassed look. Silver Wolf's anger was unmatched.

"Then why show yourself, you little runt?!" Silver Wolf yelled. "Now I'm gonna kill yer friend for yer incompetence!" Shiori widened her eyes in fear, as Silver Wolf clenched his fist and walked over to the fear-filled girl. But a Kunai whizzed past the attacker, managing to slash his cheek. The thrower was Tsukune.

"If you lay a finger on her, you'll be sorry!" Tsukune yelled in anger. Silver Wolf simply wiped the blood from his cheek and turned back to Tsukune.

"I'm not sure yer head's screwed on straight!" He growled. "Do you think the name "Silver Wolf" is just a name I thought sounded cool?!"

"Isn't it?" Tsukune asked.

"No!" Silver Wolf yelled. "Silver Wolf is a _title_! It goes to the person in the Land of Earth who is considered a great legend! It goes to the person that can crush little mice, like you, and wouldn't even know they got hit!" Tsukune was intimidated slightly, but regained himself.

"I'm not gonna run!" Tsukune said. "Not as long as Shiori's going to get hurt!" Shiori had to look away, knowing what will happen now.

"Then, I'll crush both of you!!" He yelled with mighty anger. Tsukune looked in worry, but rolled away from Silver Wolf's path, as he punched the ground where Tsukune was seconds ago. The young Uzumaki was shocked to see the ground in that he stood from seconds ago was completely caved in.

"This'll be harder than I thought!" Tsukune whispered. But nonetheless, threw a Kunai in Shiori's direction, which pierced the ropes binding her to the tree, and a second which cut the ropes binding her hands. Immediately, she removed the gag.

"Tsukune, run!" She screamed. But then, a hand caught her mouth, and pulled her away behind the tree. She struggled wildly, but was shocked to see it was Konohamaru, calming down at the sight of his Leaf headband.

"Calm down, kid." He whispered. "Tsukune and I have a plan to beat that big idiot!" He peered round, to see Tsukune, desperately dodging attacks. When Tsukune looked to Konohamaru, who gave a thumbs-up, Tsukune threw a Kunai at a tree, piercing it's bark and stabbing it's blade into it.

"Ahahaha!" Laughed Silver Wolf. "You're pathetic, were you even trying to hit me?!" This time, Silver Wolf turned up the heat and formed hand seals. "Earth-Style - Giant Pound!" Using a rock-encrusted fist, he tried to whack Tsukune, and another dodge lead to him being blown away by the magnitude of the Jutsu, as he was battered across the ground painfully. "You've got no chance! The more I attack you with this Jutsu, the more tired out you'll be!" Nonetheless, Tsukune threw a Kunai in the wrong direction again, to another tree and dodging another Giant Pound, which again, blew him off course. This time, Tsukune was exhausted out, because of it's sheer force. "Heh! I'm impressed! Most people get at least worn out on the first go!" He then, used his normal fist to punch Tsukune away, making him collide with a tree. Tsukune, from the last attack, gained a slightly swollen cheek, with a burst lip.

"C'mon, Tsukune!" Konohamaru mentally cheered, trying to keep Shiori silent, as to not reveal themselves by screaming in anguish. Desperately, Tsukune lifted another Kunai to attack.

"Go on, just try and hit me!" He grabbed Tsukune by his fairly long blonde hair. "Here you go! You can't even miss!" But Tsukune gave a smile and stabbed the Kunai into the tree directly next to him, and wriggled from Silver Wolf's grasp, and jumped away from him. Silver Wolf gave a confused look, but noticed his entire body was paralyzed. "Wh-What the hell?!" Tsukune stood up and leaned on a tree to support himself.

"I wasn't...aiming the Kunai at you." Tsukune explained. "I threw those Kunai at the trees on purpose!"

"You little rat!" Silver Wolf growled. But, now Konohamaru finally revealed himself.

"You can take over, Sensei." Tsukune said to Haruhi's teacher.

"Thanks, Tsukune Uzumaki." Konohamaru said with a light-hearted tone.

"Uzumaki?!" Silver Wolf roared in realisation. "Then...Then you're..."

"I'm the son of the Sixth Hokage!" Tsukune said, as Konohamaru began forming hand seals.

"Fire-Style - Fire Pillar Jutsu!" He cried, and the ground beneath Silver Wolf erupted in flames as high as the trees, with Silver Wolf in it. The flames died soon after, allowing a large cloud of black smoke to rise.

"So, what was those Kunai, anyway?" Asked Tsukune. "You told me to stick them in three trees around him, but what did it do?"

"It's your mother's special Jutsu that uses the Chakra from the Kunai to trap it's opponent within it." Konohamaru explained, removing one Kunai and unpocketing a normal Kunai, showing Tsukune the difference: the normal had a thick ring on the hilt, while the said Kuani had a cone shaped spike. "It only works if the Kunai are on a triangle fashion though, it's distance is limited and has to pierce it's solid target, if not the Chakra will go poof. So it was quite a risk using them."

"My mom made them?" Asked Tsukune.

"Yeah. She's the best Medical Ninja in the Leaf Village, so Jutsu which can paralyze or hold off an opponent is your mother's style." Konohamaru said. Tsukune smiled.

"My mom's cool." Tsukune said. But before admiring his mother any longer, he felt a bone-crushing hug befall him, seeing Shiori being the hugger. "Hey! Shiori! What are you-!"

"You idiot!" She wailed. "Why didn't you get your dad?! Why?!" Tsukune flinched slightly, as did Konohamaru.

"Shiori! I couldn't leave you there! Even if he was the Silver Wolf, like he said, I still had to get you out of there!" Tsukune said.

"I didn't want you to help me!" Shiori continued.

"Why not?!" Tsukune said, with sadness that his efforts to impress her were in vain.

"I didn't want you getting hurt for me!" Shiori now screamed. Tsukune gaped, as Shiori wept.

"Shiori..." Tsukune started. But Konohamaru put a hand on Shiori's shoulder.

"Kid, at least try and respect Tsukune's decision to come save you." Konohamaru began. "I wanted to lead the rescue mission on my own, but I knew Tsukune wanted to be the one to rescue you at all costs, despite his age. Tsukune is his father's son, and will never even think of turning a blind eye to a friend in danger. He went to see his father to persuade him to save you, but when I told him he was busy with urgent matters, he couldn't bear it. But deep down, he wanted to save you himself." All this time, Shiori was listening in wonder over what Konohamaru had to say. "It's always been like that for the Uzumaki's. Even for the one before Naruto..." Shiori looked at Tsukune with tear-filled eyes, and smiled, raising a smile for Tsukune.

"Hate...to break this...little reunion..." Panted a voice familar to the three. All of them gasped and looked at the flames to see Silver Wolf, burned in many places, but still alive. "Now you die!!!" He charged full throttle, particularly towards Tsukune.

"Tsukune, look out!" Konohamaru yelled. But, before the punch made contact with Tsukune, a great force-filled punch repelled Silver Wolf away from the trio, forcing Silver Wolf across the battlefield. The one who repelled Silver Wolf, stood alongside the three.

"My, my. I can't trust you with anything, can I, Konohamaru?" Spoke a familiar sight: Naruto.

"Daddy!" Tsukune screamed in joy.

"Naruto-sama!" Jumped Shiori.

"senpai..." Konohamaru mumbled. Silver Wolf got up, ready to fight.

"Haha! I've been waiting for this!" He growled with a smile on his face. "Now come at me with everything you got!"

"Honestly. You'd think you'd get the message the first time." Naruto said. But, Silver Wolf attacked first, with a more larger version of his Giant Pound, only the rocks on his fists were boulder-sized.

"I'm gonna kill you!" He yelled. But Naruto blocked the immense punch with a barrier made of Wind Chakra, bouncing Silver Wolf back.

"Amazing!" Shiori whispered at the immense Chakra given off by the future Hokage. Naruto gave a sigh.

"I was kinda hoping you'd turn away from evil ways." Naruto sighed. Then, he dashed forward to Silver Wolf, stopping directly in front of him. "Rasengan!" And using his signature Jutsu, the ball of Chakra was plunged into the enemy, repulsing him away and killing him in an instant. "I didn't owe you a fight. You were the one who owed me something: your life."

Later that day, when the sun began to sink, Tsukune was being healed of his minor injuries, as well as being watched over by Shiori in the family's living room.

"I can tell you're going to be like your sister, Tsukune." Sakura commented. "Always looking for trouble." She gave a tender laugh, to show good will, raising a smile from the children.

And outside in the Uzumaki's back garden, Konohamaru explained everything to Naruto.

"So, that's how it was." Naruto said with understanding. "Looks like the Will of Fire's burning deep in my little boy."

"You got that right." Konohamaru said. "He took a beating just to save his friend. Quite remarkable for a boy his age to show that level of courage."

"If that's Tsukune, I'd love to see the future generations." Naruto said. Konohamaru raised a smile. "But, I digress, why didn't you just send Tsukune to see me? It'd have saved so much trouble."

"I knew you were very busy lately, senpai. Didn't wanna disturb you. I didn't think your rivalry with the Earth was of any significance, plus Tsukune was willing to fight him." Konohamaru said.

"It's not rivalry, it's misunderstanding. He wanted a fight back then, and I spared his life, cus' he was strong. No rivalry involved." Naruto said. "But the reason I was so busy was because I've been looking for yah."

"Really? What for?"

"In two days, we're going after Takai." Konohamaru gasped.

"You serious?"

"Yeah. This won't be something Tsukune can handle. But I know for sure, this mission is big, my instincts alone are telling me this."

"How do you know? Isn't it just a retrieval mission?"

"No. Takai's an Uchiha." Konohamaru gaped in surprise. He didn't hear the news of Takai being an Uchiha, only that Haruhi was injured and Takai ran away. "All the missions I've had thus far with Uchiha's were big. But this one will be even greater, and this time, we're gonna do it right!"

As Naruto said his speech, Haruhi sat at her window, looking to the deep sunset over the Village.

"Takai..."


	20. Gathering! The Leaf's Finest!

**Gathering! The Leaf's Finest**

It was the third day's night of Haruhi's resting period; for her, it was the longest three days of her life, only speeding slightly when hearing the news of Tsukune and Konohamaru saving a girl from a ninja on the second day. Haruhi now rested in her bed, ever-anxious of the day that lay ahead. Suddenly, her father, Naruto, walked in.

"Everything's ready for tomorrow. I've convinced people who know you well and are ready to save Takai." Naruto explained. Haruhi looked away.

"What if Takai really is evil." Haruhi said in anxiety. "This mission would only be a waste, and I'll be risking everyone's lives..." Naruto approached, and lay a hand on her shoulder.

"I may be Hokage, but there are many things in this world I don't understand. One of the things I do understand, is that Takai isn't evil." Naruto said with heart. "Many times I seen you and Takai together, and the way he looks at you, the way he talks to you, shows not a trace of evil." Haruhi gave a smile. "But, that's until you find out for sure what his true intentions are." Naruto walked away. "Good night. And whatever happens on this mission, you will always be my loving daughter." He left, leaving Haruhi with the sleeping Tsukune, and her lonely thoughts...

Meanwhile, at the Hyuga Clan's residence at the same time, Hanabi Hyuga, team leader of Team 10, was preparing for a mission, thinking back to a few days previously.

_"So can you do it?"_ Asked Naruto as the said Hokage and Hanabi walked through the Hyuga gardens, in a fairly pleasant afternoon.

"_Konohamaru's student has turned against us. That I cannot help_." Hanabi said. "_But, I am willing to offer my services in this mission."_

"_Excellent. And if you can, bring a few of your students, that Hotaru girl preferably. We're gonna need everyone we can find_."

"_Why do you need so much people_?" Asked Hanabi. "_And why not just send the Jounins if the mission is on a grander scale than what the Genins can do?"_

"_This isn't a warzone, Hanabi, it's a rescue mission._" Naruto explained. "_Although Takai left through the purposes he sought, I can feel he left through other means, which is why we must use people Takai's comfortable with, my daughter and your students included, so we can persuade him to return. As for the large number, we need to be cautious in our attempts to save him. I learned in the past never to rely on a short number on a rescue mission."_ Hanabi paused.

"_Very well, I am yours when the time comes_."

While she prepared her gear in her somewhat large room, her door opened to reveal a tall fit man, with long black hair, the same eyes as Hanabi and wore a white gown with a leaf headband on his forehead. Hanabi instantly recognised him.

"Neji..." Hanabi uttered. The now-grown up Neji approached Hanabi.

"So, you insist on going on the mission Naruto has sent out." Neji asked.

"Yes. And how do you know?" Asked Hanabi, resuming her packing, whilst kneeling to pack a backpack of supplies.

"He asked me to join, since I have experience with this." Neji explained. "I turned him down, however. I do not wish to include myself with the Uchiha, even as childish as your friend's student." Hanabi flinched at this. "In all honesty, you too should have rejected. If it is that fool Konohamaru's fault that the boy left, it should be his duty alone to correct it." Hanabi reached breaking point, slapped her bandaged hand to the wall and stood up to Neji, so they were eye-to-eye.

"Enough!!" She screamed in cold fury. "Konohamaru may be a fool at times, but I will not sit and hear you utter harsh remarks towards him!" Neji lowered his eyes towards his cousin, and turned to leave.

"And you are the fool to sink low in order to defend him." Neji said, and left the angered Hanabi to her business.

Soon, the sun rose over the Hidden Leaf Village. It was particularly a long night for Haruhi, as she slept soundly, in expectations for the arrival of the next day. Awakening, she immediately jumped from bed, free from her bonds of injuries, changed and raced to the living room, to see a note on the table. She snagged it to read:

_Meet me and your father at the gates. You begin the mission there._

_Love Mom _

_P.S. Don't wake up Tsukune. It's too early for him._

Haruhi knew what she had to do and raced to the Hidden Leaf Village's gates. The Village looked so peaceful whilst it bathed in the rising sunlight. Too peaceful for this occasion, where she finally got the chance to correct her mistake and retrive Takai.

She arrived just as soon as she departed, to see Naruto and Sakura waiting for her at the gates. She ran up to them, much to their joy.

"All better?" Asked Sakura.

"Yes." Haruhi relied.

"Good." Sakura said in content.

"Where's my allies?" Asked Haruhi in expectation. Naruto paused a second.

"Here's one right now." Naruto said, pointing to two lone figures. Haruhi focussed to see it to be Hitsuin and Kitsuin Inuzuka, carrying their puppy companions as they approached. Haruhi raised a smile.

"Hi, you two!" She greeted. And behind her lips, she whispered to her father "Nice pick, Dad!"

"Hey!" Said Kitsuin, the young male twin. "Couldn't turn down a request from the big Hokage himself, can I?"

"Future Hokage." Naruto reminded.

"It will be a pleasure working with you, Haruhi." Hitsuin, the female twin, said happily.

"Thanks." Haruhi said. "But where's that creepy friend of yours... Kano...Kaga...?"

"Koga Sachi." The twins said together.

"He couldn't make it today." Hitsuin said. "He doesn't like missions involving rescuing. He's more subtle with his missions."

"As am I." Spoke a familiar voice behind the two. Haruhi looked beyond the twins to see Hanabi Hyuga.

"Hanabi-Sensei?!" Haruhi identified.

"Oh, great." Kitsuin moaned. "We got Team 10's slave driver. Is it too late to back out?" But his mood changed when Hanabi glared at them.

"Did you bring your students?" Asked Naruto.

"One couldn't make it." Hanabi said. Haruhi, in her mind, was hoping it was Ayane that she spoke of. But her fears were realised when next who arrived was Ayane herself and the mysterious Tatsuno Ichihara beside her. Haruhi's heart dropped; she preferred Chono Akamichi to have been the one to come, not just to see his fighting skills, but because he seemed the most friendly.

"Reporting for duty, Hanabi-Sensei!" Ayane said, in the form of an army soldier. She gave a glance and immediately grew formal. "How's it going, Haruhi?" The said girl flinched at her unofficial rival's coolness. "No hard feelings about a few weeks back?"

"Yeah, I'm still edgy that you'll control my arm again." Haruhi said cautiously.

"Don't worry, we're allies, as far as you're concerned." Ayane said. She then went to join her Sensei, along with Tatsuno, who remained silent.

"What happened between you and her?" Asked Hitsuin.

"Long story." Haruhi replied.

"That's six." Naruto counted. "A few more, then we're getting to it." On saying that, two more arrived, to which Haruhi smiled at: Konohamaru and Maruya Mana.

"G'morning!" Maruya said with joy. Konohamaru joined Haruhi.

"How yah feeling?" He asked.

"Good. Sorta nervous, but I can handle it." Haruhi said. Maruya then joined.

"She'll be fine. She's my Sensei's daughter, there's no way she'll screw up!" Maruya encouraged, making Haruhi and Sakura giggle at Maruya's carefree nature. Naruto looked around at all the contenders and sighed.

"Looks like he's not coming." Naruto sighed.

"Who's not coming?" Yelled a voice from afar. All looked towards the nearest building directly in front of them, to reveal three figures, two adults and one a child of Haruhi's age. Initially, they couldn't see who it was, because the sun blocked their appearance, but when the mysterious trio jumped down to the other's level, Haruhi widened her eyes in surprise to see someone she never expected: Shikari Nara.

With his parents, Shikamaru and Temari, behind him, Haruhi inspected Shikari from head to toe. He was clothed in a long clock stretching to his feet, he wore a very large scroll strapped to his back, all in all, he looked well.

"Sh-Shikari..." Haruhi whispered in wonder.

"How yah been, Haruhi?" Asked Shikari. "Miss me?" Haruhi out of instinct, ran towards Shikari, hoping to get closer to the friend that was missing for almost three weeks. But, when they were inches apart, Haruhi punched Shikari's cheek with pure force, so he went tumbling into the wall, and the two parents dodging quickly to avoid their crashing son. Shikari recovered quickly. "Wh-What the heck, Haruhi?!" Haruhi approached again, this time, grabbing the cloak he wore and pulling him upwards to her face.

"Where the hell where you, you big idiot?!" Haruhi screamed, creating an audience with all her teammates. "Do you realise how lonely I was up until now?!"

"Oh, yeah, that helps." Konohamaru whispered in sarcasm.

"You went away, expecting everyone to not notice, and think things will flow like normal?!" Haruhi screamed further.

"Y-You're saying...you missed me?" Shikari stuttered.

"Of course I missed you, you lazy idiot!!" Haruhi went on. But in the end, she calmed down, finally releasing her pressure, and grew saddenned, letting go of Shikari. "I needed a friend to help me through what happened with Takai-kun...Family's good to help, but I needed someone who I can rely on. You were one of those people, Shikari-kun..." Shikari gave a sigh.

"I'm sorry for leaving like that, Haruhi." Shikari started. "But like I said, I hate watching you, Takai and Sensei fight all the battles." Haruhi looked up to him. "But this time, I plan to fight with you guys!" Haruhi then gave a smile.

"Okay." She said. "Welcome back, Shikari-kun."

"Ahh, young love." Sakura whispered to her husband.

"Alright!" Naruto called. "If we've had enough dose of drama, we need to get this mission under way!" The team joined, while the two parents of Shikari headed to leave.

"You not coming?" Asked Haruhi to the two.

"Sorry, kid." Temari said. "We're not up for a mission today."

"Mostly 'cus I'm beat training that little squirt!" Shikamaru said, stretching his body. On that, they left, leaving the nine teammates, Naruto and Sakura to huddle round.

"Okay, here's the situation." Naruto said. "Three days ago, in the midst of night, Takai Uchiha left the Village, leaving Haruhi to die."

"Anyone can do that." Ayane remarked, making Haruhi furious.

"Looks like your Clone wasn't lying." Shikari said.

"He left with, as Haruhi describes, Takai's twin sister." Naruto continued. This made Shikari flinch in surprise.

"He has a twin?" He muttered.

"And she's as weird too." Haruhi said.

"Also, he mentioned to have a reason for leaving, not saying what it was. The ANBU Black Ops swept the Hidden Leaf's borders, but no trace." Naruto went on. "That's where the Inuzuka twins come in." The two gave a smile. "Using their keen sense of smell, they can track down Takai with the smell I gave them of his headband. Still know it?"

"Yes." They said.

"Good. Now your mission is to find the source of Takai's departure, if you can, put an end to it, and escort Takai back."

"Will he be executed for crimes against Leaf law?" Asked Hanabi, making Haruhi nervous.

"No, we're willing to forgive him, should his reason be for the right cause." Naruto exclaimed, making Haruhi sigh in relief. "The retrieval of his sister is a bonus. Konohamaru, since you're the best round here, you're leading this mission."

"Got'cha!" Konohamaru said.

"Hanabi, since you're second place, only just, you're second in command. If Konohamaru is in a position where he can't make a choice, you make the choice. If he's killed, you take over as leader."

"Understood." Hanabi said.

"Alright, time to analyze our target. Thankfully, me and my wife have experience with an Uchiha. Sakura, care to explain?" Naruto said.

"Yes." Sakura said, taking the stage. "The Uchihas are experts in combat and wits. They have the Kekkei Genkai called the Sharingan, an ocular Jutsu used to identify opponents Chakra and movements, be able to see past Genjutsu and increase their attack strength considerably."

"Quite the unique ability." Tatsuno said.

"That's just one thing. They have a dormant secondary mode to the Sharingan, known as the Mangekyou Sharingan. Each differ from user to user. One was said to ignite opponents in black flames to all he looked. One had the ability of a unique Genjutsu that could last for hours, maybe days, whilst only seconds pass."

"Then that means...Kakashi..." Haruhi said.

"Yes. He too has the Mangekyou Sharingan. But onto the main subject. Takai-kun's Mangekyou possesses the ability to eradicate Chakra in the air, making Ninjutsu and Genjutsu useless."

"Best to fight with Taijutsu." Hanabi said.

"Exactly. But remember, we don't know what Takai's sister has to offer, so you have to be careful." Sakura continued.

"Obviously a very powerful Jutsu like that has to come with a downside!" Shikari exclaimed.

"Yes, just one. Overuse of this power will make the user's sight fade." Sakura explained. Haruhi gulped.

"You mean, go blind?" She asked.

"Yes." Sakura replied, this made Haruhi grow nervous.

"We have to stop Takai-kun before that happens." She said with determination.

"Sounds like you're all ready." Naruto said, taking over from Sakura. Everyone nodded. "Alright, time for a little Leaf Mission good luck charm!"

"What's that?" Asked Haruhi.

"Since it's Senpai saying it, let's go for it!" Konohamaru said with ecstasy. He laid out the back of his right hand. "Everyone, hands in!" Hanabi, Maruya, Ayane, Tatsuno, Hitsuin, Kitsuin, Shikari and finally Haruhi followed. Afterwards, Naruto placed his on top. Then, Naruto recited these words:

_A rescue mission lies ahead,for a comrade in dangerous flight,we as the Shinobi of the Leaf __shall not waver in this fight!_

_Past years of Shinobi failed but we stand on the shoulders of those mighty beings as we make our plea as soldiers!_

_Let us go on this mission with the Will of Fire burning deep in our hearts for the one we truly admire!_

_Takai Uchiha!  
We shall rescue him from all dangers and be free from the dangers within!_

Suddenly Naruto let his hand go, as Konohamaru waved downwards, as all the hands of the teammates followed suit.

"Let's go!" He commanded. And then, they all went through the Leaf's gate at great speed, as they hopped along the trees, with the Inuzuka twins leading, the three adults next, and Haruhi, Shikari, Ayane and Tatsuno following behind.

"Your father really is a great Hokage." Ayane commented to Haruhi.

"Why bring this up now?" Asked Haruhi.

"I guess you can call it envy." She replied. Haruhi gave a feint smile.

"Maybe you should stop chasing the shadow of Haruhi's dad." Shikari said.

"Are you mocking me?" Asked Ayane in anger.

"No. All I'm saying is, you can become a better ninja, even if you don't resolve to be like the Hokage." Shikari said. Ayane paused at this, somewhat form of compliment.

"Thank you." She said.

"We got a good scent." Kitsuin reported. "We should be on Takai's trail soon."

"Wait, we gave him a three days head start, he should be on the other side of the world by now!" Hanabi said.

"He couldn't have." Konohamaru said. "His companion, the girl, was deeply injured by Haruhi." Haruhi remembered, in her wild state, attacking Mitsuko in the arm, giving her a deep injury and rendering her unconscious. "He'd either had to leave the girl behind or stay to heal her injuries. Besides, he too sustained a massive amount of damage, using his Mangekyou Sharingan n'all, so the first choice would have been likely. We have to hurry." The nine quickly picked up the pace.

Meanwhile, deep inside the remnants of a hollow tree, the young girl, Mitsuko, had finally awakened, with her injuries completely healed.

"Are you ready?" Asked a familar voice, standing at the tree's entrance.

"Yes." Mitsuko said, standing up and stood next to her brother: Takai.

"Good. Today, we will show our pride of the Uchiha!"


	21. Flight of the Uchiha

**Flight of the Uchiha**

Three days earlier, Takai was carrying his beloved sister on his shoulder, running to a safe haven, not running from the Leaf ninja, but to save his sister, who had now lost so much blood.

"Hang on, Mitsuko!" Takai called as she coughed up more blood. Soon, Takai found a hollow tree and hid in it's barky sanctity, not before using his Mangekyou Sharingan to erase the fragments of Chakra leaking out of them, to stop the Leaf from tracking them. Immediately, he began to use his keen instincts to heal Mitsuko's arm.

It took many days to heal, but the wound had completely closed up, after many attempts to remove the ominous Chakra preventing it's healing. Soon, Mitsuko began to wake, as Takai kept on guard.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yes." Mitsuko said, standing up and stood next to her brother.

"Good. Today, we will show our pride of the Uchiha!" The two ran at full speed to the west, with a particular target in mind. "What did you find while I was away?"

"Quite the find." Mitsuko replied. "I managed to capture one of their allies." Takai gaped.

"Are you sure?!" Takai responded in awe.

"I know, because it took me a while to track and subdue him." Mitsuko said.

"Excellent, sister." Takai said in praise. "This may be easier than I thought."

"What about you?" Asked Mitsuko. "Even through your mind powers, giving us telapathy, did the Hidden Leaf yield any results?"

"If the girl still wants me by her side, she'll call on her Hokage father to do her bidding. And if we play our cards right, they could be useful in our battle."

"I understand. But we need to locate their hideout, and our captive will be the one for that."

The two arrived outside a large cavern, to which their were obvious sounds of bats and limewater drips.

"This the place?" Asked Takai.

"Yes. I got one and took them here, out of sight." Mitsuko said. The two proceeded, it was a dark gloomy cave with rock hard walls, occasional stalagmites and bats fluttering away from their presence.

"How do you know if this guy's here?" Asked Takai.

"I don't." Mitsuko said in embarrassment. And Takai's guess was correct: they came to the end of the cave, known by it's dead end, and all that were present were a pile of ropes. "H-He got away?!" She inspected the ropes to be cut on several places. "Damn!"

"It's not a surprise. We've been gone for three days." Takai said. Suddenly, a kunai whizzed towards them, Takai was aware in seconds, grabbed Mitsuko and avoided the Kunai, as it had a paper bomb attached, to which it exploded on contact.

"Damn it!" Cursed Mitsuko. "I was so sure he wouldn't escape!"

"If the guy's been gone for three days, his allies would've been suspicious!" Takai informed. Then a strange silhouette appeared from behind the smoke caused by the explosion.

"Pity. Looks like my surprise attack failed." The captured ninja said behind the smoke. Takai continually look behind him, expecting to be ambushed from behind. "Oh, don't worry, I'm alone. It was naive of the girl beside you to think she had captured me successfully." Mitsuko gasped at this.

"Genjutsu!" She said in shock.

"That was stupid of you!" Takai cursed. "You should know by now, Mitsuko, our enemy is us!" The smoke finally cleared to reveal a tall male ninja, wearing a black vest and had long black hair in a ponytail and had a long spiky fringe in front. But what was most alarming, was his eyes glowing with the Sharingan.

"Believe me, little ninja. I won't be as easy to capture as the girl tried." Said the ninja. Immediately, he vanished in a wavery illusion-like wave.

"This guy's an expert in Genjutsu, Takai, careful." Mitsuko noted.

"I know, and don't worry, I have it under control." Takai said, using his own Sharingan.

Unknown to the two, the Leaf nine were on hot pursuit of Takai, hopping between the trees, with the Inuzuka twins leading them.

"He's still a few miles up ahead. More to it, he's on the move!" Kitsuin reported.

"That complicates things." Konohamaru said. "Hanabi, is he close enough for your Byakugan?"

"Hold on." Hanabi said, and formed a single hand seal. "Byakugan!" Her eyes began to glow, and the sides of her face grew large veins towards it.

"What's that, Sensei?" Asked Haruhi in curiosity.

"The Hyuuga clans secret Kekkei Genkai." Konohamaru said. "Just like the Sharingan, the Byakugan is a Jutsu on the user's eyes. It allows the user to see a vast distance away, see things in a 360 degree radius, and even see the Chakra in a person."

"Whoa!" Haruhi said in wonder.

"Hanabi isn't the only one here that can use it. Kitsuin and Hitsuin can use it too." Konohamaru continued.

"But they aren't Hyuuga." Haruhi said.

"Our mother was." Hitsuin replied.

"Bad thing was, the Hyuuga clan made it forbidden for us to be taught how to use it properly, seeing as mom was married outside of their clan." Kitsuin continued.

"Why?" Haruhi asked in shock.

"Guess they were afraid of the Byakugan passing to other bloodlines, like the Inuzuka clan." Kitsuin said. Haruhi growled in shock. "But, we still have our own family Jutsu, Inuzuka style!" The puppies inside their jackets barked happily.

"How is it, Hanabi?" Asked Konohamaru.

"I'm picking up a large amount of Chakra in the North-East approximately 10 miles from here. It could be the Uchiha." Hanabi reported.

"Good call. Alright, let's go!" Ordered Konohamaru as they picked up the pace.

"You were weak!" Takai said in the cave, having defeated the enemy Mitsuko found difficult to fight. The enemy with the Sharingan, was lying on the ground, his back slashed numerous times, and ultimately weakened. "So long as I can read your mind, their is only one victor."

"You Uchiha traitor!" The enemy weakly coughed. Outraged, Takai picked him up by his neck.

"You are the traitors here!" Takai yelled in fury. "Now tell me where the others are! Tell me where your base is!" The enemy laughed.

"Don't think you're so high and mighty, just because you are the true blood! We have ascended far beyond the stupidity of the Sharingan! Very soon, the world will bow before us! And we'll see to it that your new friends from the Leaf Village will be one of the first!" The enemy then held up a paper bomb to himself, to which Takai responded by jumping away, as the enemy killed himself with a huge explosion, caving in the rock structure of the cavern, forcing the Uchiha siblings to retreat out of the cave.

"Damn it!" Whined Mitsuko.

"Well, let's go." Takai said, walking away.

"Wait, we don't know where others like him are!" Mitsuko said stopping him.

"I know because I read his mind. On the second I asked the question of where their base was, he thought about it, just for a second. That's all I need." Takai said.

"So? Where is it?" Asked Mitsuko in ecstacy.

"On the corner of the Fire Country, on the mouth of it's widest valley, lies a castle. It's surrounded by an impenetrable Genjutsu, that makes passers by unable to see it, and unable to touch it. It's a Genjutsu I can break." Takai explained.

"Great!" Mitsuko cheered. "We'll kill them and finally be at peace!"

"Yeah..." Takai mumbled, and with his sister, headed to the said castle. While hopping between the endless forest, Mitsuko looked to her brother.

"What if we fail?" Mitsuko deliberately asked in her mind. Takai gave her a glance.

"We won't."

Over two hours later, the Leaf team had arrived outside of the cave where Takai once stood.

"There's a strong scent on Takai-kun!" Hitsuin said.

"Really?!" Haruhi exclaimed. Hitsuin became nervous.

"It leads in there." She said, pointing to the boulder blocked cave. Haruhi looked in horror.

"Takai-kun!!!!" She screamed, running to the cave boulders and began fruitlessly shifting them. "Hang on, we'll get you out!!" But she was stopped by Konohamaru.

"Hold on, Haruhi." He said, soothingly, trying to calm her down and looked to Hanabi who had her Byakugan active.

"Only one died in the cave collapse. But it was neither Takai nor his sibling." She said.

"How do you know that, Hanabi-Sensei?!" Yelled Haruhi. "You can only see Chakra, it might be Takai!" Then there came the barking of Kitsuin's dog.

"Wait guys! We got another scent trail heading to the North-West!" Kitsuin said. "It's still Takai and his sister!" Haruhi sighed.

"But the question remains." Shikari intervened. "If Takai and his sis are still kicking around, then who in the Hokage's rectum is under there?" Haruhi lowered her eyebrows in wonder.

"That...That's a good question." She said. Hanabi focussed her Byakugan on the dead more.

"I don't know who it is. But there is one thing this guy has." Hanabi said in controlled surprise. "The Sharingan." This shocked the team.

"This is seriously growing weird!" Ayane growled. "The Uchiha were extinct long ago! Takai and his sister is one thing, but to have another unrelated is really getting suspicious!"

"Perhaps this is the motive behind Takai's departure." Konohamaru said. "Takai being of Uchiha blood, must be finding this as fishy as all nine of us."

"But...how did this guy get the Sharingan?" Haruhi asked. The other eight lowered their heads.

"That's...a mystery we have to solve." Konohamaru said.

The two Uchiha siblings continued their route towards their pre-planned destination, arriving at a cliffside, overlooking a large valley with a woodland in it's vast bottom.

"This is it, Mitsuko!" Takai said in wonder. "The castle many like to call Castle Mashin, is at the bottom of that valley!"

"How do you know?" Asked Mitsuko. Suddenly, Takai formed a hand seal.

"Release! Shadow Genjutsu!" He cried. And from the giant meadow arrived a huge black dome with a red glow on it's edge; the dome cracked and vanished, making Mitsuko's eyes open in shock: a castle, almost as tall as the valley walls, stretched with pride in it's size, fashioning guard walls, which seemed impenetrable in a circular fashion; the interior behind the walls had eight large towers also going in a circular method, and in the middle stood a larger spiked tower that was the crown jewels of the truly spectacuar sight.

"Mitsuko...victory is in sight..."


	22. Attack! The Power of the Sharingan!

**Attack! The Power of the Sharingan**

The Leaf team, consisting of Haruhi, Shikari, Konohamaru, Hanabi, Maruya, Ayane, Tatsuno, and the Inuzuka twins, Hitsuin and Kitsuin, with their two puppy companions, travelled in the same direction as Takai and Mitsuko. The more they travelled, the more Haruhi felt remorse for her leaving companion.

"Takai-kun..." She whispered to herself. She couldn't help but recite the events that happened over the past few months, in which her, Takai and Shikari's friendship was near inbreakable. One particular memory fell on her, introducing the other two to ramen. The three were in the Ichiraku ramen stand, and were served a bowl each.

"Alright guys! Eat up!" Haruhi piped.

"I wasn't one to think ramen was tasty." Shikari complained, while using the chopsticks to inspect the noodles mixed with soup.

"It isn't a delicacy I find delicious either..." Takai said. Haruhi however, was eating to her heart's content.

"Awww, c'mon guys!" Haruhi said, while trying to swallow the ramen noodles in her mouth already. "I bet you'll like it if you taste it!" Takai looked towards Haruhi in a focused way. He couldn't resist the sweet smile Haruhi was giving, so he took a small chopstick-full of noodles and ate it.

"It does taste pretty good." Takai said, taking great shame in admitting it. Shikari too sighed, not wanting to be the only person not eating, so he too ate.

"Okay, it's better than I thought." Shikari said, also burdened with the shame.

"Then eat up! Ayame! Fill me up another bowl please!" Haruhi called.

Haruhi had to turn her head away, that memory was too good, almost perfect with Takai. Her heart delved deeper, into even more fond memories. It was one particular weekend, during Haruhi's Rasengan training period, and the three spent the night at Shikari's; his house was closer, and the two visitors wanted to spend the night in order to avoid a long trip home. Shikari and Takai were playing Shogi, and Haruhi watched on a fluffy pillow.

"C'mon, Takai, you can't beat Shikari-kun! He practices all day with his dad!" Haruhi said, lying face-down watching the two, while waving her bare feet in the air. Shikari took Takai's Gold General with a Lance.

"I have the only supporter here." Shikari said in victory. However, the taking of this piece was a trap, as the Bishop came down and took the King.

"You were saying?" Takai asked, with a stunned Shikari.

"Impossible! Lucky fluke! Play again!" He commanded in an angry tone, making Haruhi laugh at his arrogance. But in the reality of things, she had to grimmace at those happy memories.

"_I can't let myself become shaken by Takai's presence. If he really is evil, then we will have to kill him...But...I can't kill my friend..." _Haruhi began to think. Shikari and Konohamaru looked to Haruhi, who had her eyes closed, with tears down her cheeks. Suddenly, Konohamaru waved everyone down, and all stopped in the nearby clearing in the trees.

"Why did you stop, Konohamaru? Is something wrong?" Asked Hanabi.

"Yeah, we're gonna take a short break." Konohamaru replied.

"Don't you think that's a bit risky, Sensei?" Asked Tatsuno. "If Takai is still moving, we will lose him." Then, the Inuzuka twins smelled the air.

"No, it seems Takai's speed has slowed." Hitsuin said.

"He must have reached his destination." Said Hanabi.

"Good. We should use this to our advantage and rest for a bit." Konohamaru said. "No point in running in wildly when we're tired from running."

"Very well." Hanabi said.

While everybody was catching their breathe, refilling their water flasks at a nearby spring, or just chilling out from the tension, Konohamaru approached Haruhi, by which time she regained herself.

"Are you okay?" Asked Konohamaru, sitting in the tree trunk Haruhi sat on.

"Of course." Haruhi said. "Why not?"

"It's okay to feel sorrow of what's to come. We don't know what Takai's intentions are, but you feel it's of a bad outcome?" Haruhi lowered her head.

"What if Takai was evil all along? What if from the start, he was just toying with our feelings to fulfil his goal? I...I can't bear that fact..." Haruhi said in a saddened tone. Konohamaru seen the sadness from his student.

"Haruhi. We don't know anything yet. If he has betrayed us, he betrayed us. If he's good, we'll help him." Konohamaru said. "But..." He used his hand to raise Haruhi's face, so they made eye contact. "You won't know by moping like that. Whatever side Takai's on, you must be strong...if you're to surpass your father." Haruhi smiled and stood up.

"Well, what are we doing sitting around here for? We need to get him!" Haruhi said in resolve.

"That's the spirit!" Konohamaru cheered and joined the others. "Alright, breaks up!" And with that, the nine went on the road, in the same formation, in a full-speed effort to find Takai. Hanabi kept her Byakugan at full effort, knowing they're getting closer to Takai. Suddenly, there came a wide opening in the trees, everyone stopped on a large branch.

"Takai's trail's in that opening!" Kitsuin said.

"Tread with caution." Konohamaru said. The nine approached the opening, and came to a large cliffside, overlooking a vast valley, with a forest beneath them.

"Wow! What a large valley!" Said Maruya.

"Is Takai down there?" Asked Shikari. Hitsuin gave a large sniff.

"He's over..." She said, but when she was about to point to the right, she caught a great sight. "...There..." The other nine looked upon the same sight. A huge castle towering to the same height as the valley walls, with eight surrounding towers around the main castle itself, which acted as the ninth and biggest tower of all, and at the bottom was a large wall, which acted as it's defense.

"Wh-What is that?!" Ayane said in awe.

"That...That's Castle Mashin!" Konohamaru said in horror.

"Impossible!" Hanabi said. "That castle is a myth!"

"I think it just upped it's status to legend now..." Konohamaru replied.

"What is Castle Mashin?" Asked Haruhi.

"A castle that is said to house the dead..." Konohamaru said.

"D-D-Dead?!" Haruhi quivered.

"Don't get cold feet now, Haruhi." Ayane mocked.

"Shut up!" Haruhi growled.

"Takai's in there." Hanabi said, with her Byakugan in effect. "His Chakra is hard to detect, with the intimidating presence of Castle Mashin, but not for me."

"Do we have to go in there?" Asked Hitsuin.

"That's the idea." Konohamaru said. "But first we need a battle plan." Suddenly he widened his eyes in shock, the same with Hanabi and Maruya, as they took two Genin each, and split into three directions as a huge explosion blasted the spot the nine once stood. Haruhi, who was rescued by Konohamaru, alongside Shikari, was stunned by the sight of the crumbling rocks.

"We're under attack?" Haruhi said in shock. "By who?!"

"We're about to find out." Konohamaru said, looking to the distant shadow in the trees.

"Who are you, and why did you attack us?!" Yelled Hanabi, who regrouped with her team, as Maruya regrouped with the Izuzuka twins. The shadow approached, and was a middle-aged man, visible by his wise face, with long black hair, and wore an eyepatch; his clothes consisted of a long black cloak with black leather boots.

"You are Shinobi from the Village Hidden in Leaves, are you not?" He asked.

"We are." Konohamaru replied. "What business do you have with us?"

"You have been sent to exterminate us?" The man said with a stern look.

"Our business is with Castle Mashin. What we do in there is up to you." Konohamaru replied.

"I see. Then for the sake of the revival of the strongest Clan in the world...you must die..." He ended, and then, the three Jounin avoided with the Genin, as another explosion came to their path.

"What did he mean by that?" Haruhi asked.

"Who cares?!" Shikari said. "Right now, we got a ninja to kill!" Konohamaru took his chance and attacked, but when the ninja looked at him, an explosion threw Konohamaru back.

"Sensei!" Haruhi screamed in worry.

"I'm alright!" Konohamaru said, recovering from a slight burn to the shoulder. "You. You have quite a powerful Jutsu."

"So you have noticed." He said. "Ryoko Uchiha..." And with this, the people in his line of sight, seen the red sharingan befall the eye that was present.

"Uchiha?!" Ayane said in shock.

"Tell us how you possess a Kekkei Genkai that is long extinct!" Hanabi ordered.

"The secret shall stay with you to the grave!" Ryoko said, activating a star shaped form of his Sharingan. Quickly, the nine evaded another explosion.

"Everyone, scatter!" Konohamaru ordered. "He can only cast one explosion in his line of sight." By this time, Ryoko was well ahead.

"Six...seven...eight...nine. Nine Shinobi. Two Jounin, one ANBU and six Genin. This shall be an easy victory." Quickly, he formed hand seals, and focussed on one. "Ninja-Art - Covering Fog!" The forest suddenly became abundant in a silver fog, that suddenly got thick in seconds and because the nine scattered, all of them were separated.

"Guys?! Where are you?!" Haruhi screamed.

"Haruhi?! Sensei?!" Shikari screamed around.

"What is this Jutsu?" Asked Maruya. Suddenly, there came the sound of an explosion, and that of a boy crying in pain, most likely Shikari's. "He...He's using the Jutsu to mark everyone off?!" Another explosion came, this time a girl: Haruhi."Haruhi?! I can't take this anymore!" She formed numerous hand seals. "Sensei...let your Jutsu be helpful." She focussed a large Chakra build in her hand. "Kensei Sentou!" The Chakra let loose a giant cannon that blasted away the fog, and indeed, let open a huge clearing. There, she seen Ryoko with his back turned, ready to use his Jutsu on Konohamaru. "Not this time!" She let loose a second Kensei Sentou, that hit Ryoko directly, sending him flying, and releasing the rest of the fog Jutsu. Quickly, she went to action to see Haruhi with a slightly burned arm, and Shikari with a cut to the head. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I think so..." Haruhi said.

"What was that Jutsu?!" Kitsune said, now coming with his sister.

"Some kinda sight-binding Jutsu. He used it to narrow us down, one by one." Maruya answered. "Konohamaru! Handle him, while I heal these two!"

"Got'cha!" Konohamaru replied, and went to the weaked Ryoko, grabbing him by his cloak. "Alright, punk! you're gonna answer our questions! Where did you get the Sharingan?!" The dark figure gave a small laugh.

"You are strong, Leaf Shinobi." Ryoko began. "But I must warn you. If you value your lives, leave this place. Nobody has fought Yamishin-sama, and lived to tell the tale!" Immediately, he took off his eyepatch and Konohamaru's vision began to fade, then he collapsed, giving Ryoko an easy victory.

"Konohamaru!" Hanabi screamed in worry.

Soon, Konohamaru woke, and found that his two students were the first things he seen.

"Thank goodness!" Haruhi said in relief.

"Whoa! Haruhi. Shikari. With you two here, I dunno if I'm leaving a nightmare or going into one." He joked, making Haruhi laugh too. "What happened?"

"You got trapped in that guy's Genjutsu. All of us for that matter were." Hanabi said. "He got away. His Genjutsu's just as strong as his Ninjutsu."

"That's the Uchiha for you." Konohamaru said.

"He is not Uchiha, though." Tatsuno said. "He was just about as Uchiha as any of us here."

"Which is why we must discover how he has access to the Sharingan, if there are more like him, and what is the connection between Takai's departure and these new Sharingan users." Konohamaru explained.

"That Ryoko guy was pretty serious in stopping us from reaching Castle Mashin." Kitsuin said.

"Perhaps clues on this riddle may lie there." Hitsuin said. "It may be there stronghold."

"Maybe, or they might be expecting us to reach Castle Mashin and ambush us." Hanabi said.

"I know this might be a bit grim for some." Shikari said. "But what if Takai intends to join the mastermind behind this?" Haruhi widened her eyes in shock of this revelation.

"It is for that reason...we have to hope it isn't true." Konohamaru said, indicating Haruhi's shocked expression. This made Shikari lower his head in shame.

"Haruhi..." Maruya said, in a comforting way. Haruhi shook her head.

"No...I need to see Takai! I need to hear it from his own lips to know for sure! Sensei, Shikari, this is something I must do alone." Haruhi said.

"Understood." Konohamaru said. "We'll guard you until you meet with Takai. Should you fight him or reason with him will be up to you." The other six nodded in agreement.

_"Takai...hang on..." _Haruhi thought.

Meanwhile, deep in the recesses of Castle Mashin, a slightly weakened Ryoko appeared before a blood red room, with an evil throne centred in the end.

"Yamishin-sama, we have intruders from the Hidden Leaf Village prepared to infiltrate our fortress." Ryoko reported. The man on the throne remained quiet.

"And that is bad in which sense?" The man asked.

"They are willing to stop your plans!" Ryoko replied.

"It will amuse me to see them try. Let them come. Keep to your tower until they come." The man continued.

"Yes, Yamishin-sama!" Ryoko replied, and left quietly. The evil man, named Yamishin, revealed himself in a tiny sunlight. Blood red were his eyes, and his hair was the night sky. His clothes consisted of a black robe, equipped with spiked shoulder paddings and steel boots. He was as old as Naruto, and his intentions opposite.

_"The Leaf Village? How exciting. Now we will see if the Village that put us to extinction..are as true as the rumours say..."_


	23. Infiltration! The Dreaded Castle Mashin!

**Infiltration! The Dreaded Castle Mashin!**

The Leaf team spent the next hour traversing through a small path in the valley walls that would safely get them down. Haruhi groaned once more, as she tripped over a loose rock in the path.

"I don't get it, Sensei! We're experts in Chakra walking, why not just walk down?" Asked Haruhi in pain over her fall.

"Three reasons." Konohamaru said. "One, this path will take us directly to the castle walls." Points to the distance, where the evil castle was dead ahead. "Second, we want to conserve our Chakra for when the time comes for battle. And third, out of all of us here, two aren't good with Chakra control."

"Don't look at me." Shikari said. "I spent ages mastering my Chakra."

"No, not you. Haruhi and Maruya." Konohamaru said. The said girls fumed.

"Thanks for pointing that out." Maruya whined.

"True though. It takes great Chakra control to maintain walking vertically for a long period of time, and should you even slip up once, it's hasta la vista." Konohamaru continued.

"Yeah, well I've improved since then!" Maruya said.

"Since when?" Asked Haruhi.

"Since the time I was a Genin with your mom." She replied. Briefly, she recited the time exactly nine years ago, where her and two of her male teammates were trying to master walking up a tree through Chakra; Sakura was sitting on a log monitering them, with a baby Haruhi in her arms. A child Maruya was worn out from fatigue, but tried again with her wall walk, not making three steps, she fell on her back, while her other two teammates made it to the top.

"_Why can't I get this right?!" _Whined Maruya.

"_Maruya." _Sakura called. The said girl looked to her Sensei. "_Sit down, take a break. You won't get anywhere by being tired and Chakra worn_." She said with utmost grace. Maruya sighed and sat next to her on the log.

"_Must be hard being you, Sensei. Training us and looking after your little girl_." Maruya said. "_You'd think you'd have Naruto-sama help out once in a while_."

"_I do, only on big missions. Besides, he's usually busy with his team, or training to become Hokage_."

"_Heh! Still, she does look cute_." Maruya said, complimenting Haruhi, by brushing her presently short red locks, before moving to her small cheeks, to which the baby bit her finger when it got too close. Maruya screamed in agony while Sakura laughed merrily. In the present day, the team continued downwards while Maruya told Haruhi of that tale.

"Sorry, must've been my teething period." Haruhi giggled.

"Don't worry, Sakura-Sensei apoligized countless times, even until you started saying it." Maruya said. Haruhi gave a small laugh.

"Quiet..." Konohamaru said. He stopped them briefly to look at the forest area up ahead. A few more yards and they would come to the gates of the castle. "This is where it gets tricky. Stay on guard."

"Yes!" They all said. Quickly, they ran with great speed and agility to avoid detection and quickly reached the grand gates.

"How will we get in there?" Asked Tatsuno.

"We're just gonna have to break our way in." Konohamaru said. He formed quick hand seals. "Earth-Style - Shattering Wave Jutsu!" He punched the ground hard, which made the ground rise with force, and the force of the underground shockwave pounded against the walls, crumbling slightly. "Hmmm, it's tough."

"It's not tough, Konohamaru." Hanabi interfered.

"What?"

"You used far too little Chakra in that Shattering Wave. Were you trying to break the wall down or just give it a slap and hope it crumbles?" Konohamaru gave a small grimmace.

"I don't want to waste too much Chakra for the fights ahead." Konohamaru said.

"Then if you won't, then perhaps there's one who can." Hanabi said, stepping forward. "Besides, if you use your head for a second, you are trying to break down rocks, therefore we should attack with Lightning-Style Jutsu."

"Why do that?" Asked Haruhi.

"Simple. Elemental affinities." Shikari explained. "Every elemental Jutsu has a weakness to other Jutsu, like you probably know when I fought Kakashi." Briefly, she remembered how Shikari negated his father's Sensei's Lightning attacks with Wind, but lost to Fire. "For this instance, the rock wall's Earth element is weak against Lightning. It's the first thing to remember when using elemental Jutsu."

"Ohh..." Haruhi said. Hanabi took the field, and used numerous hand seals.

"Lightning-Style - Piercing Fist Jutsu!" Cried Hanabi. She took a stance and her fist burst with Lightning, and using it, she punched the crumbled wall Konohamaru made, and it blasted all the way through, making a nice hole for the nine to travel through, on the other side was a large courtyard. "That's how you do it, Sarutobi." Konohamaru childishly pouted.

"I could've done that!" He whined. Instantly, he reformed himself. "Hanabi, if you have Chakra left, analyze the castle and tell us the situation."

"Okay." Hanabi said. She used her Byakugan and in seconds reported back. "There are eight stone towers on all sides of the castle. All of them lead to the central tower. The central tower is guarded by an impenetrable barrier that repels all that touches it. Takai is headed for that tower through one lesser tower. Our best plan of attack is to split into eight forms, take the eight towers and form a perimeter around Takai, so even if he makes it to the central tower, we can be ready to face him."

"Which tower is Takai-kun going up?" Asked Haruhi.

"The north tower." Hanabi replied.

"So, we gotta split-up, eh?" Said Konohamaru.

"We aren't!" The Inuzuka twins pepped.

"We'll fight together!" Hitsuin said in resolve.

"Definitely! Me, Hitsuin, Koinu and Okami can take down any foe!" Kitsuin said. With that, Koinu, the puppy in Hitsuin's jacket and Okami the puppy in Kitsuin's barked cutely.

"I've got no objections to that." Konohamaru said. "Means there's now eight teams."

"Do we really need to split up?" Asked Ayane in annoyance.

"Don't complain!" Hanabi ordered. "Takai has the power of reading our thoughts, if he realises we're approaching together, he will evade us! This method will pin him down at the central tower with no chance of escape, even if he does read our thoughts!" Ayane nodded.

"Hanabi-Sensei. I have a request." Haruhi said.

"What is it?" Asked Hanabi.

"Take me to the tower Takai-kun is going up." Haruhi said. Hanabi paused.

"Very well." Hanabi said. "Be careful everyone. Each tower has ominous Chakra in them. Tread with caution." With this, each of the teammates attached to their ears an earpiece and microphone. "Should you be in any danger, report to us, immediately." Konohamaru readied himself, by tightening his scarf he wore.

"Alright, Team, this is it! Time to bring Takai home!" He said with inspiration. Haruhi too readied herself. All the others too readied for combat.

"Let's go!" Haruhi said. And instantly, all of them dashed into the hole created by Hanabi. Once in the courtyard, they split into two groups, the Inuzuka Twins, Ayane, Tatsuno and Shikari going one side, and Konohamaru, Maruya, Hanabi and Haruhi going the other. One by one, they went into individual towers by breaking down the wood doors barring their entrance. Hanabi stopped to one door, which already had it's wooden door broken through.

"This is where Takai's headed." Hanabi said. Haruhi looked through in caution, the tower had a flight of stairs to it that led as high as the tower itself. Cautiously, Haruhi proceeded. "Good luck, child of Naruto..."

Shikari raced up the steps of his tower, hoping to reach the top before Takai could reach the central tower, but lost sight of that goal, as he was feeling the fatigue of running up the stairs.

"Man! Grand Castle Mashin and they have so much stairs! Man, what a drag!" Shikari groaned. Suddenly, he stopped at the feeling of dark Chakra. "Wh-What's this Chakra...?" Soon, it subsided. "Tch, probably the castle playing tricks on me." With effort he continued.

Ayane continued her route through her tower, but she had quite an unusual tower to progress through: plain mirrors were on the walls of the tower, greatly irritating Ayane.

"What's with this place?" Asked Ayane in irritance. "If they think they can distract me with mirrors, they've got another thing coming!"

It wasn't long until Shikari had finally made progress with his running up the stairs. He came across a large circular opening that the stairs spiralled to. Shikari stopped at the top of the stairs, and walked with unease into the opening. On reaching the middle of the opening, he heard a dark sinister laugh echo the tower.

"Who's there?!" Called Shikari. Without warning, or indication, a kunai shot towards him. Shikari used his own to deflect it.

"Not bad!" Laughed the voice. Shikari growled, and used his Kunai to lightly scratch the back of his hand. Ignoring the pain, he noticed the area began to morph, and although the opening hadn't changed, there was someone else present: a mysterious figure, wearing a black cloak; he had long jet black hair and looked in his early twenties, and once again, he had the same red eyes as the last person he encountered.

"Should've known. These guys who've got the Sharingan eyes are experts in Genjutsu." Shikari mumbled.

"I'm surprised a brat like you could have guessed!" Mocked the man. "I, Shiganori Uchiha, shall be your opponent!" With this, he went into a battle stance. Shikari continued his own stance.

"Not here to fight, yet. If you wanna live, and save yourself the trouble, you can start by answering a few questions." Shikari said, not taking the situation seriously. Shiganori laughed his insane laugh once again.

"You defeat me?! You must really hate those stairs, cus' I'm not gonna lose to a punk like you!" He laughed, gathering an insane amount of Chakra. Shikari pressed the microphone attached to his ear.

"Shikari here. I've encountered an enemy Uchiha. Looks pretty strong. Doesn't look ready to surrender. Over." Shikari said in a clear voice. He let the button go with a slight amount of noise on his earpiece. The same noise came up.

"Konohamaru here." Shikari heard through the earpiece. "You'll have to fight him. Make sure you don't kill him. Any information he's willing to give, forward to us, over." Shikari gave a groan.

"What a drag." He heaved, and finally went into a battle stance, ready to battle the self-acclaimed Uchiha.


	24. The Battle Begins! The Leaf Vs Uchiha

**The Battle Begins! The Leaf versus the Uchiha!**

Maruya Mana climbed the tower not by running up the stairs, but by quickly hopping up each spiral, gaining her more distance.

"These stairs...they're designed to wear enemies out...obviously to give the owners an advantage in battle. I hope the others have overseen this."

Haruhi didn't. She stopped in her tracks to catch her breathe, climbing several stairs and still no result to Takai's position, leaning on the wall adjacent to stop herself from collapsing back to the bottom.

"Jeez...Huff...the guys who built this place really...huff...messed up." Haruhi panted, wiping her forehead of her sweat. But with determination in her heart, she trodded on to find her beloved comrade.

It was not soon after recieving Shikari's message, that Konohamaru reached the top of his stairs. He arrived at a heavily fortified wooden door, with stones to strengthen it.

"Someone doesn't want me in." Konohamaru guessed. "This must be the only path to the central tower." He formed numerous hand seals in preperation of a Jutsu. "Wind- Style - Blasting Wave!" He thrusted his palm forward, this time putting effort into his Chakra and burst the door off it's hinges with a blast of Wind Chakra. He proceeded with caution, into a large red tinted room that stretched a good way away, the perfect arena for Shinobi in combat. Once inside, the young Jounin heard a shrill laugh across the room, to which he couldn't make out, being dark. One thing was for sure, the laughter was that of a female's. "Who's there?" Suddenly, the room became ablaze with candles; on all sides of the room were candles held up by metal stands, and to illuminate the centre was a chandelier above with more candles, making the room a light shade of passionate hot colours. At the end of the arena stood a woman, much to Konohamaru's guess, around his age, wore a black cloak, fashioned with jet black long hair, that partially covered her right eye, yet her eyes were the deepest shade of green; she was a sight to behold.

"That door was open, you know." The woman spoke with passion in her voice.

"I know." Konohamaru replied. "It was just a way to show how strong I was, perhaps to avoid a fight." The woman laughed once again.

"You think you can avoid combat by blowing down a door? You Leaf people are so arrogant. Perhaps I, Nomi Uchiha, should teach you a lesson." She said, preparing a stance.

"The Uchiha name doesn't belong to you. What makes you think you can go around telling everyone your from a clan that was extinct for fifteen years?" Konohamaru replied with a slightly more serious voice. Nomi closed her eyes and re-opened them again to reveal the Sharingan.

"Because I have inherited the name!"

Finally, Ayane Hotaru had seen the end of her stair journey, reaching the same door that Konohamaru found.

"Yes! Alright, time to show these guys what I'm made of!" Ayane said in courage as she opened her door. At first, the room was dark, but quickly illuminated with a patch of sunlight, that was quickly refracted from mirrors that were spread out across the room in many different angles; each mirror was seven-foot in height and had a gargoyle-like creature atop it's wooden frame. "This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder." Suddenly, she jumped backwards and blocked a Kunai that was about to stab her in the back. She was about to counter-attack, but seen nobody, but her, was present.

"Do you like my trick, girl?" Asked a haneous dark voice that echoed through the room. Ayane seen the source of the voice coming from behind a mirror. The voice revealed himself to be a tall man with the recurring black cloak, thick spiky hair that was mainly concentrated into a pony tail at the back; along with this, he had a very long face, that was constantly smiling, and had dark narrow eyes.

"This guy...he's no ordinary foe..." Ayane thought.

"Who are you?" She said in danger. The man gave a snigger.

"My, a feisty one. Looks like I'm going to have fun..." He said in a very excited sinister voice. Ayane prepared for battle against her strange enemy.

Returning to Shikari, he wasn't fazed by his opponent's sudden burst of Chakra; he played it cool and kept his guard up.

"Looks like you're not gonna surrender, huh?" Shikari said lazily. "Looks like I'll have to fight..." He was about to reach for his giant scroll that was rucksacked on his back, but Shiganori acted first. From his finger tips came a large surge of Lightning Chakra.

"Don't get comfortable in battle, kid!" He said with malice and an evil smile, as Lightning raged more until he was beginning to become immersed in it. Shikari moved his leg to the side to avoid a stray bolt of lightning.

"That's quite an interesting Jutsu..." Shikari said, forgetting the idea of taking the scroll off his back.

"Like it, huh?" Shiganori said arrogantly. "My Jutsu all focus on Lightning, both for offense and defense! And using my Sharingan, these powers are amplified tenfold!" Shikari, after hearing this gave a smile.

"It is, huh?" He said. "Well, this won't take long..." And with this, he prepared an obvious Wind-Style attack.

"_Heh! I know that move_!" Thought Shiganori. "_It's Wind-Style - Wind Cannon. Quite an advanced Wind Jutsu, especially for a Genin. But as a Lightning-Style user, I've seen it plenty of times and can block it, even having the weaker Chakra affinity_."

"Let's see you get through this! Lightning-Style - Wall of Terror!" He commanded, and the Lightning raging around him turned into a giant skull made of Lightning Chakra that blocked Shiganori out completely.

"Hmph! With pleasure!" Shikari said, ready to fire the Jutsu.

"_This is my strongest Lightning defensive Jutsu_!" Thought Shiganori. "_Not even Jounin can get through this, no matter how strong their attacks! Hehehe..." _

"Wind-Style - Extreme Wind Cannon!" Called Shikari. The new name threw Shiganori back slightly, only expecting a regular Wind Cannon, but his surprise was ended with shock as a giant Wind blast burst through Shikari's fist, that punched through the skull of Lightning Chakra.

"Impossible!" Shiganori stuttered in fright, as the Wind blasted into him, and indeed smashed through the entire tower. Dust and debris filled the air as the walled arena turned into a wall-less version, and with many bricks littered across the battleground. Through the bricks emerged Shiganori, with many wounds to his body and was panting heavily to get his body used to the shock of the attack. "Wh- Ho- What was that attack you little brat? AND HOW DID YOU LEARN IT?" His voice echoed through the sky with rage, not fazing Shikari.

"Wind-Style - Extreme Wind Cannon." Shikari started. "I just amplified the size and magnitude of the original for more power. I knew the original alone couldn't burst through that Lightning attack, so I just switched to the bigger one." He paused to crack his neck in exhaustion. "And as for how..." He pointed to his Leaf Headband on his arm. "This headband's only reason for being there is to tell my Village. My Wind Nature Chakra is the same Chakra that runs through the Sand Village's Kazekage...I'm his nephew." This widened the eyes of Shiganori. "When you began to use your Lightning Jutsu, you were doomed to lose..."

"Like hell I'll lose!" Shiganori exclaimed in reckless anger; and emerging from the rubble, he attacked Shikari with a Lightning blast. "Lightning-Style - Rampaging Thunder!" The blast was thrown back by a regular Wind Cannon as it was deflected away from the battlefield.

"You can still live by giving me the answers I need...How did you get the Sharingan? Who's your ringleader? And where's the bridge leading to the central tower?" He asked, now noticing that the battlefield and the central tower had no connections via bridge or stairs. Shiganori gave a smile before dropping to his back in laughter.

"Too bad for you, nephew of the Kazekage...Hehehe...you might not know, but I am the weakest of Yamishin-Sama's strongest forces!" He explained; giving Shikari a groan. "Because of that, I don't have authority into the central tower; I need the permission of the next strongest. Killing me was such a waste, because now you need to fight one of ours who is much stronger than I! Too bad...Haahahaha!" He breathed his last, after consuming too much Chakra after the last attack and died.

"Tsh!" Shikari lazily breathed. "What a drag." He gave a look around to see a few towers nearby that neighbouring companions were climbing up. "Which tower was Haruhi's again?" He spotted one particular tower, directly next to his tower and much taller, that he had the instinctive knowedge Haruhi would be travelling up. "Alright, wait up Haruhi, I'm gonna be backing you up." Using his Wind Chakra, he blasted the ground to send him flying to the tower. He slowly calmed the flow of his Chakra and flew into the open window to more stairs. "What a drag..." With that, he continued up the stairs.

It was now the Inuzuka Twins' turn for action, as they now finished their run up their stairs to the same wooden door with a stone wall surrounding it.

"Alright, Hitsuin, Koinu, Okami, this is it!" Kitsuin said in high spirit. Hitsuin nodded and the two puppies barked. Kitsuin opened the door, to reveal the same darkness, before it was lit by a several torches on the walls, with the same large open room; except this time, something struck the four that made them question the foe they'll face.

"E-Everything's...symmetrical!" Kitsuin identified. Indeed his analysis was correct, from the four's point of view the torches were five on either side, ellaborately placed so they were facing each other, the design of the carpet on the floor had a symmetrical pattern and indeed, the door to the central tower was exactly placed as the entrance door. Hitsuin sniffed the air.

"I can smell someone is here...but the scent is untraceable." Hitsuin said.

"Yeah...it's like...there's more than one of it..." Kitsuin said. The two dog-users sensed an attack coming and instantly dodged together, and the door that the two were beside, was sliced in four different places. "What the...?" Kitsuin said as the four took their positions in the centre of the field, the dogs no longer in their owner's shirts and all four ready for combat.

"You're fast for children." Said a female voice hidden in the shadows.

"But you won 't get far..." Spoke an equally mysterious voice. The two voices revealed themselves from the darkness of the room and barred the path to the central tower. The two had the recurring black cloak and their hair was almost the same colour and style, only the male's hair was covering his left eye, and the female's hair covered her right eye, yet both had a pony tail at the back.

"When you face us!" They said together in perfect synchronisation. But the male noticed something perculiar about the female's stance, and gave her a massive whack to the head.

"Oww! What the heck was that for?" She screamed.

"You had your left foot inwards at the same time as I!" He hollered. "You broke our beautiful act because of your stupidity!"

"Shut up! You were supposed to put your right foot out! Don't blame me for your lack of brain power, idiot!" The female fought back. The Inuzuka twins and puppies looked on in confusion as the two bickered like little children over a toy. Finally the two settled their differences and faced the twins.

"Sorry for that." The male spoke. "If you don't mind, can you go back to the door and dodge our attack again?"

"Umm...no?" Replied Hitsuin. The two attackers groaned to themselves.

"Let's just get to the introductions!" The female said. "I, Uhen Uchiha shall destroy you!"

"And I, Sahou Uchiha shall be your doom!" The male said, as the two got into a pose. Kitsuin and Hitsuin readied themselves.

"Are you one of them Sharingan clowns?" Kitsuin growled aggressively.

"Right you are, boy!" Uhen said. And the two revealed their Sharingans, as this marked the beginning of their battle.

Returning to Ayane Hotaru, who was facing an opponent in a room full of strangely designed mirrors, she took the first move by throwing Shuriken at the foe, but the devious foe dodged craftily. The foe was about to walk past a mirror on his side that in Ayane's point of view the glass was facing his opponent but not facing her. Ayane seen this as an opening.

"Now's my chance!" She said in victory and threw a Kunai at the point where her enemy would walk to; unfortunately for this strategy the Kunai whizzed to the desired spot, but the target didn't, he walked past the mirror but never came out of the other side. "What?" The enemy gave a snigger.

"Confused?" His voice rang from every direction. "I would be too if I seen my own power!" Ayane ran to the mirror that the enemy passed through, and he was nowhere to be found.

"Where are you?" Ayane commanded.

"Right over here!" The attacker replied. Ayane pinpointed the voice and jumped away to see something unusual: the enemy was about to stab Ayane from behind, with half his body inside the mirror; and then he pulled his whole body into the mirror.

"_What kind of Jutsu is that_?" Ayane thought in disbelief. The attacker appeared once more through another mirror, but this time without the intent of attacking.

"My Kekkei Genkai, Kagami Kouji, is a rare Jutsu indeed." He explained. "If you've seen it in action once in your lifetime and live to tell the tale, you know you're doing well as a Shinobi. These mirrors appear to be only mirrors to regular people, but to me, they're gateways."

"Gateways?" Ayane said.

"I can use the mirrors in these rooms to appear anywhere in this room. Only I, Ryosei Uchiha am capable of doing it."

"You claim to be of the Uchiha clan, but how can you have a Kekkei Genkai and the Sharingan together." Ryosei gave a large smirk.

"Very perseptive of you, girl!" He laughed. "I do possess both Kekkei Genkai, Kagami Kouji and the Sharingan, but do you know why?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking, would I?" She retorted.

"I'll tell you..." At this, Ryosei revealed his Sharingan. "Because we were_ made _Uchiha!"

"Made?" Ayane said, now having come across a vital piece of information.

"I have said too much. I gifted you with this much because, you will die before you can act on them!" Ryosei stepped backwards into the sanctuary of his mirrors. Ayane looked around wildly.

"_He thinks he has me figured out, but that's where he's wrong_." Ayane thought. "_My Clan's secret Jutsu, Body Possession Jutsu, has the advantage. If I can touch his arm or even his head, then this battle's as good as over_..." While thinking of her strategy, she began storing Chakra in her hands, preparing to use her Jutsu which can take possession of enemy's body parts depending where she hits. "_Haruhi was lucky not to encounter this, but if I touch my opponent's head, then I can achieve full body control. I can take possession of his brain and I'll be one Uchiha minion up_." She gave a smirk at the thought, but now prepared herself. Ryosei attacked from the left.

"Now's my chance!" She said and dodged a punch and touched his head with her Chakra hand. "Got'cha!" But much to her dismay, the Ryosei she attacked was a sludge Clone that melted on Ayane's touch, and not before achieving one more thing: Ayane's hand was wrapped in the sludge that she couldn't get out of. "What?" She struggled, but she couldn't free herself, and slowly, she felt her power getting weaker.

"Do you think I'd be as naive to attack a member of the Hotaru Clan head on?" Ryosei said deviously. "My Sharingan could detect your Body Possession Jutsu a mile away, and I took the necessary precautions to ensure an easy victory." Ayane bent to her knees, as the power that was leaving her was growing too much. "Oh, and in case you would have tried something fishy when still trapped, I included a portion of my Kekkei Genkai in that clone. The power to absorb any other person's Chakra!" Ayane struggled some more.

"Does that mean...?" Ayane said.

"Yes! The mirrors in this room are accessible to everybody. But getting out and getting out alive aren't assured. Only I can travel in them without having my Chakra absorbed and can leave on a whim." He grinned, and then punched Ayane in the face. "You're completely helpless girl!" Then, Ryosei continued punching Ayane in the same place, drastically beating her up; all the while she continued to try and free herself but to no results, until finally, Ryosei ceased, giving Ayane bruises and cuts on various places on her face. "I've grown tired of you, girl, so I'll just have to put you out of your misery!" Ayane gave a small laugh despite her premature battle injuries.

"Somewhere, somehow, Haruhi must be laughing at me." She said weakly, now accepting her fate. Ryosei held a Kunai to Ayane's chest. "I...never really told you, Haruhi..."

"Die!" Ryosei lunged forward with the Kunai to kill the Hotaru girl.

"How sorry I was..." Ayane said, choosing her last words. But those words weren't indeed her last, as a large scale blast destroyed the sludge Clone binding Ayane and the energy blasted from it threw Ryosei back.

"What?" Ryosei exclaimed in surprise. Ayane looked around to see who was the cause of her rescue.

"What a drag..." Said a very lazy voice. Ayane turned to the voice and seen none other than Shikari Nara.

"Y-You..." Ayane said in surprise. "Shikari-kun?"

"I was kinda hoping I'd find Haruhi, but I guess you need my help more than she does." Ryosei looked to the new challenger who just saved his prey, while Shikari readied himself for a much more challenging opponent.


	25. The Fruits of Shikari's Training

**The Fruits of Shikari's Training**

The situation Shikari found himself in was not the best, for Ayane Hotaru, Haruhi's enemy, was being brutally beaten by her enemy; if it weren't for Shikari's intervention, she'd be dead by now. Ryosei growled, having lost a perfect opportunity to kill Ayane.

"You little runt!" He growled maliciously.

"It's inpolite to raise a hand to a girl, y'know." Shikari said, making his way to Ayane, who was crouched to the ground in pain. "You okay?" Ayane kept her pride in full flow and looked away.

"Why are you here, Nara? I had this fight perfectly in control." Ayane said.

"Yeah, getting beat half to death is quite a good way of asking for help. Hardly matters now, I'm here, I'm good to go and I can handle this punk for you." Shikari said.

"What about your Uchiha, did you handle him?" Ayane asked.

"Of course." This caught Ryosei's ears as he gave a chuckle.

"Judging by your appearance here, your must have fought Shiganori, am I right?" He laughed. "Not a reliable one when getting to Yamishin-sama's tower, is he?"

"Who is this Yamishin?" Asked Shikari.

"All in due time, boy. Worry about me." Ryosei replied, and retreated to the nearest mirror, as it shocked Shikari when he slid through it.

"He can travel through mirrors?" Asked Shikari, helping Ayane up.

"Better still, he can come out of any one and attack." Ayane explained. "But that's not the worst. It's easy to counter-attack his plans, so he'll use extra precautions to ensnare you."

"Ensnare?" Shikari asked.

"If you get caught into his mirrorland, your as good as dead." Ayane replied.

"Well, looks as though he won't get that chance!" Shikari said and formed a few hand seals. "Wind-Style - Wind Cannon!" He punched the air that summoned a Wind blast that shot for one mirror. It shattered completely. Ayane's eyes widened.

"They're...destructible?" She said in awe

"Of course they are." Shikari said. "Figuring out an opponent's strategy is half the battle won, making your own counter-strategy seals the deal. If he can travel through mirrors, it means he's leaving the other mirrors vulnerable. And the big question is: what happens if you destroy all the mirrors?"

"His plan falls apart..." Ayane identified.

"I love the Leaf Shinobi." Ryosei hissed in delight as he showed himself through another mirror. "You really know how to put on a performance."

"Judging by those words, we have you figured out." Shikari grinned.

"You think so, do you?" Ryosei grinned equally. He stepped back into his mirror. "Now the fun really begins." Suddenly, from a mirror shot a Kunai. It was easy for Shikari to see it coming, but when it was meaning to deflect, it dispersed into smoke.

"What?" Shikari gasped. Then, two more hurtled towards him; he was defenseless. But, Ayane darted between the attack, deflected one and got hit in the shoulder by the other. She gave a scream as it made contact. "Ayane!"

"Don't lose focus!" They heard Ryosei laugh from behind the mirror. Then, all the mirrors shot a barrage of Kunai that shot towards them. Shikari took Ayane and jumped upwards, dodging the array of Kunai. "Whoever said I can't use all the mirrors at once? Especially when I can do this!" Ryosei sped out of his mirror and met up to Shikari in mid-flight and kicked him away, causing him and Ayane to land painfully on the ground.

"Your tougher than that last guy." Shikari grunted as he recovered himself. But Ryosei was already on the move. He darted for Ayane, causing Shikari by instinct to intervene, but when he came for the two, he too dispersed into smoke. Then, Shikari received a painful slash to the arm, without knowing the cause. He cursed at this, stopping the blood from seeping out. "How did that happen?" Then, both Ayane and Shikari were bombarded with cuts and wounds, that they had no idea how.

"As long as I'm in my mirror..." Began Ryosei. "I can travel between mirrors faster than the speed of sound. There's no way you can catch up with my speed!" Ayane and Shikari were both weakened greatly from Ryosei's attacks.

"What do we do now?" Ayane cursed.

"I have an idea..." Shikari said. Ayane gasped at this. "But...it requires you to hold off this guy until I get the job done." Shikari then took the long scroll that was backpacked to his back and unrolled it to reveal a complicated Sealing Jutsu.

"What is that?" Ayane asked.

"You'll find out." Shikari said.

"How long do you need?" Asked Ayane.

"Fifteen seconds." Shikari said. Ayane growled.

"The time of penultimate attacks marks a time of great catastrophe..." Ayane said. "Your such a pain, Nara." She stepped forward. "Uchiha!"

"You called?" Mocked Ryosei as he peeked out of a mirror.

"Why don't you stop hiding behind your mirrors and fight me one-on-one?" Ayane challenged.

"Ohh? And why should I do that?" Ryosei smirked. "If I continue to do so, and hit some vital areas, this battle will be over before you can say 'sayonara pipsqueaks'!"

"The thing is, Uchiha, my Sensei isn't too fond of cowardly attacks, and brought us up to fight by the right way." Ayane explained. The evil Uchiha chuckled.

"Then it is your Sensei who has failed you!" He laughed. "Don't you see? It doesn't matter if your opponent hides in the shadows or is a valiant ninja, as long as you do the job and kill your enemies, what does it matter?" Ayane clutched her hands in anger.

"Careful where you tread, Uchiha." Ayane growled. "My patience has limits. And mocking my Sensei certainly greatly upsets my patience!" Chakra burst forth from Ayane and wrapped around her like a shell. "Ninja Art - Controlling Puppet!"

"Ohh? Keeping an ace up your sleeve, eh?" Ryosei said, watching the amazing Ayane burn with anger.

"This is my greatest Jutsu!" Ayane said behind the Chakra. "Now are we gonna fight one-on-one or not?"

"Alright then! It doesn't matter anyway! You couldn't hit me the first time, you certainly won't hit me again!" Ryosei mocked and charged for Ayane. She purposefully took a direct punch to the face without so much as a counter-attack or attempt to dodge. "Hahaha! You're pathetic!" But despite the gush of blood pouring from Ayane's mouth, she smiled.

"Your the one who's pathetic, Uchiha." Ayane said. And her luck finally came, as the spot Ryosei punched Ayane with, mainly his left knuckle, was tattoo'd with the mark of the Hotaru, and the evil Uchiha couldn't move his entire left hand.

"You little wench! What did you do?" Ryosei grunted, trying to gain control of his hand.

"My usual attacks meant if my hand even touches a single body part, I can gain control of that body part, and if I manage to take control of a high part in your body, like your shoulder, I can take possession of your entire arm. But, see this Chakra glow around me? I can forward that power to my entire body!" Ryosei's eyes widened. "This is the ultimate defensive power from physical assaults. If you even touch me, you'll be selling your body parts one by one until they're all mine!" Ryosei sighed, took out a Kunai using his right hand and did the unexpected: tore his left hand off with the Kunai. Ayane gave a cry of fright at this. But then, Ryosei dug his hand into the nearest mirror available and took it out to reveal his hand had completely regenerated and the disembodied hand rotted away into dust.

"You seen the mirror's power to manipulate space, time and heighten my speed to sound-levels and even the power to destroy any who enter my mirror. But there is one last power is possesses: the power to restore my limbs should any get cut." Ryosei laughed. "Now that I know your abilities, little girl, you should be no trouble at all." Ryosei then threw a Kunai, loaded with a paper bomb, but not to Ayane, but to Shikari.

"Crap!" Shikari said, he was still halfway to completing his seal, but he couldn't move, or it'd disrupt it.

"No!" Ayane shot for the Kunai and took it's hit as it exploded in front of her. She gave a scream in pain and her Chakra glow faded as she lay defenceless. Ryosei wasn't finished with her, and yanked her hair up, making her scream in more pain.

"That shot wasn't for you, little girl. If you didn't do that, you wouldn't be in this much pain!" He used his other hand to pull her hand towards him. "What say we call it even? You cut off my hand, I cut off yours." Ayane tried to wriggle free from this torment, but he was too strong. "This may hurt just a bit, little girl."

"No...this will hurt a lot!" Ryosei turned in fear as a large Wind Chakra blast hit him directly and sent him flying away from Ayane. The weakened Hotaru looked with all her might to see Shikari's secret weapon, and that was literal, because Shikari did have a weapon: he held in his hand a long, white-polished scythe that had wind gusts forming on the curve, and on the end of the scythe's handle was a long white sash that danced in the scythe's wind.

"N-Nara..." Ayane said weakly.

"It was a drag making you go up against him, Ayane. But this victory is now certain to fall in our favour once more." Shikari said. "You take five, you deserve it." Ayane, for once, smiled in comfort.

"Alright, slimeball, where are you?" Shikari called.

"Just fixing myself." Ryosei called in his mirror. "Your weapon really is powerful, it would have killed me if I hadn't crashed in a mirror."

"Course it's powerful. Why else was it in a scroll that had five seals inside it?" Shikari said. "This scythe, also like to be called the Tatsumaki Tansen, was the one of the Wind Country's most strongest weapons. But the bad thing is, very few are able to control it. It belonged to my mother, who was the only person in the Sand Village able to control it. I asked if I could borrow it so I could master it with my Sensei, but neither of us could even get around to even holding it without it going AWOL. Then that's when me, my dad and mom went to train to master the Tatsumaki Tansen, it took almost three weeks of non-stop training until I eventually began to wield it as you see here. It sure was a drag though." Ryosei heard the last of his speech and smiled.

"Nice story, kid!" Ryosei said and finally emerged. "Impressive blade, but it won't beat my speed!" He re-entered the mirror and using it's transportation between mirrors, shot for Shikari with fast undetectable speed. But Shikari used the giant scythe to block an incoming punch. "What?"

"You've gotten, a little slower..." Shikari said almost calmly. He counter-attacked and slashed Ryosei's shoulder, making him jump back in pain, but Shikari didn't wait and surprising both Ryosei and Ayane, he appeared to have vanished and reappeared behind Ryosei to give another painful slash.

"How did you..." Ryosei said, covering the wounds he received.

"The Tatsumaki Tansen gives me the power of the wind! Speed." Shikari said, and demonstrating his speed, he appeared behind Ryosei but didn't attack, he reacted by trying to punch him, but Shikari swiftly avoided. "And power." He appeared behind Ryosei again and punched him in the jaw to send him flying to the other side of the room, crashing into a few mirrors in the process.

"I-Incredible..." Ayane said in awe. Ryosei recovered slightly.

"You want speed and power? I'll give you plenty of both!" Ryosei yelled in anger, entering another mirror and using it's inter-mirror speed shot for Shikari attempting to attack. Shikari dodged and went on the offensive in an array of speed attacks. Their attacks were so agile and fast, Ayane was finding it hard to keep up with the two.

"Was this what Shikari's been doing while he was away?" Ayane said. She remembered how Shikari was graciously beaten by the ninja during his first C-rank mission. He couldn't stand a chance, especially with just his Shadow Jutsu. Ayane compared the two in such a short time space. "He's amazing..." Shikari and Ryosei continued the high speed battle, with Ryosei now putting up a fight. He finally got lucky and kicked Shikari in the cheek, not causing much damage. Shikari didn't wait for Ryosei to get comfortable, and during his recoil of the attack, fired a highly dense Wind Chakra attack at Ryosei which made direct hit.

"This kid...is he really a Genin?" Ryosei thought, getting back on his feet. Shikari approached slowly. "I didn't want to use this Jutsu...but this kid's no pushover..." He combined a few hand seals and the mirrors began glowing.

"What's going on now?" Shikari groaned.

"Come forth! Creatures from the mirror!" Ryosei commanded in a high voice. Then from the mirror came a horde of demon gargoyle-like creatures, each human-sized, bearing wings, fangs and claws, each were coloured a bright purple and they each came from one mirror each.

"What the hell is this?" Shikari gasped in surprise. The demons sided with Ryosei as he gave a menacing smile.

"It's obvious the mirrors that I have grown to use as a weapon are gateways to another dimension. It would be uncanny to suggest no creatures reside in this dimension." Ryosei explained. "Now, have a taste of the mirror's creatures!" The demon gargoyles used their wings to fly across the room in Shikari's direction.

"It would be uncanny. So it would be to call them strong." Shikari said in high spirits as he used his weapon to slash three at once, making them dissolve into tiny particles. They were indeed strong, as one slashed Shikari's arm, ripping his tender skin. "Why you!" He fired his Wind blast to destroy the gargoyle and kept on the offensive, speeding away whenever there was a possibility of the monsters surrounding him. Every time Shikari destroyed one, the gargoyles became harder and harder to destroy, either by their more elaborate movements and more stealthy tactics of attacking.

"Be warned, wind master..." Ryosei laughed. "The more you destroy them, the smarter they become in destroying you!" Shikari fought tooth and nail to fend off the evil gargoyles until only one remained. Shikari tried attacking with his scythe, but the monster grabbed it with it's bare hands and yanked Shikari back with it, and on the other side of the gargoyle was it's razor sharp claw that was racing towards him. Then, _PIERCE_. Shikari was stabbed by the gargoyle's claw.

"Shikari!" Ayane screamed in shock. But to Ryosei's dismay, the Shikari that was stabbed turned into a giant gust on wind that blew the gargoyle off-guard.

"Substitution!" Ryosei growled. And using his supreme speed, Shikari got behind the gargoyle and beheaded it. Ryosei gave a loud sigh and entered the fray once more; he entered the mirror but not to gain his speed form, but to appear in an unlikely spot. "Don't move, wind master..." Shikari turned to where Ayane was a few moments ago to see that Ayane had been taken hostage by Ryosei, he held her at Kunai point directly next to a mirror. "Make one move and I'll drag this girl to my dimension. We wouldn't want that, would we?" Ayane struggled to break free, but she was still to weakened.

"You coward! Fight me with dignity, damn it!" Shikari growled.

"I applaud you for fighting on par with me, but let's face matters, I don't want you to pass to Yamishin-sama, and to do that is to take this girl hostage." Ryosei said calmly.

"There's got to be a way around it..." Shikari fought, using his father's descended smarts to figure out a strategy to win. Until Ayane spoke.

"Kill me..." Ayane spoke. Shikari was taken aback by this. "You can fire one of your Wind Jutsu to kill us both..."

"Don't talk nonsense, Ayane, I'm not gonna do that." Shikari snapped seriously.

"It's the only way!" Ayane cried. "Someone needs to defeat this punk to get to the central tower...it doesn't matter if one is killed..." Shikari gripped his scythe with anguish. "Do it..." Ayane now had a tear trickling down her eye. "And if you see Haruhi again, tell her...to make her father proud..." Shikari couldn't stand any more, and did the unexpected: he threw his scythe into the air, and the blade stabbed itself into the ground.

"You made a wise move." Ryosei said in victory. "Now to..."

However, the victory was assured for the two Leaf ninja. Ryosei grunted and looked down at the scythe: it was stabbed on the Uchiha's shadow.

"You rat! What have you done?" Ryosei groaned.

"I like using the Wind powers my mom taught me, but secretly, I have a passion for Shadow Possession Jutsu. I concentrated a high dosage of my Shadow Jutsu Chakra into my blade and had it connect to your shadow. As long as I did as you wanted and disarmed myself, I knew you wouldn't get suspicious..." He approached and took the Kunai from Ryosei, freeing Ayane. "Ayane, I need your help once more." He whispered something to Ayane and she grew a devilish smile.

"With pleasure, Nara!" She said. Focussing her Chakra into another one of her Body Possession Jutsu, she touched both his shoulders and the top part of his legs. "His body's main limbs are now under my control."

"Why you..." Ryosei grunted. Shikari wretched the scythe away from the ground to see Ayane had complete control over Ryosei.

"Why couldn't I take control of his head? Then we'd have ourselves an Uchiha slave." Ayane said devilishly.

"And risk him escaping his fate and take you hostage again? This idea's better." Shikari said.

"Fine." Ayane pouted and using Ryosei's legs, forced him into one of his mirrors.

"What do you have planned?" Ryosei shouted. But Shikari was already on it. he was spinning his scythe into the air as fast as he could, creating a propeller out of the scythe.

"This Jutsu's gonna cost me quite a lot of Chakra...but it's guaranteed victory over you..." Shikari said. "Killing you's against my nature, so I'll do the next big thing: seal you into your mirror dimension forever!"

"N-No! Without the mirrors I'll be locked in there forever!" Ryosei begged.

"That's the idea!" Shikari said. He floated in mid-air with his scythe still spinning frantically. Wind was generating from the outside, creating a violent storm, that was powering Shikari's Jutsu even further. The wind's force was starting to increase, starting to knock Ayane off-balance, but none like the force that would come next. "Wind-Style - Eye of the Storm!" He shot downwards and the entire room was blasted with a great surge of Wind Chakra that destroyed every mirror starting with the ones closest to Shikari's epicentre, until it reached the end of the room, forcing Ayane to avoid it by standing on the roof with her Chakra. All that could be heard was Ryosei giving a scream in panic, unable to do anything with his limbs under Ayane's control, watched as all the mirrors were smashed to pieces, putting an end to him, and his Uchiha ways. Ayane looked at the scene once the dust settled: the room was completely bare with Shikari standing in the middle. "There were one hundred mirrors in this room, and I destroyed them all...that's seven hundred years bad luck..." He gave a laugh, before collapsing with Chakra exhaustion. Ayane managed to catch him.

"Are you alright?" Ayane screamed in panic.

"Hehehe...yeah, just a little tired." Shikari said weakly. "Looks like the infamous Ayane Hotaru has a heart, after all..." Ayane couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm still the cold-blooded Kunoichi that hates your friend, y'know!" Ayane said and lowered Shikari down to rest. Then she lay down to rest too. The two were extremely exhausted after battling a fierce opponent, but glad they were able to overcome him, and ever so curious as to how their comrades were faring against their foes.


	26. The Last Battles!

**The Last Battles! **

Hanabi Hyuga stood above her defeated Uchiha opponent. She arrived at the top of her tower, faced her opponent and defeated him all very quickly. The Uchiha didn't have time to attack, defend of anything, since Hanabi's Gentle Fist was both swift and deadly. Now the tower belonged to Hanabi, as she stood in the large hall often where the Uchiha guardians resided. She then proceeded to pressing the microphone to connect to the others.

"Progress report." She said and with some noise on the radio, waited for a response from the others. A second noise came, thankfully.

"Two Uchihas were defeated by Shikari Nara and Ayane Hotaru..." Hanabi could hear the voice of Shikari speak. "I assisted your student when she was in dire need, and she delivered the final blow. The two of us are together and await commands, over."

"Well done, over." Hanabi replied. Then there came an extra noise.

"Tatsuno Ichihara here. I too have defeated an Uchiha and await orders, over." Said the voice of Tatsuno. A third noise came.

"Haruhi Uzumaki, here. Still no sign of Takai." Haruhi gave a reply to with a long winded huff. "Still...climbing the stairs, over..."

"Hah!" Ayane could be heard. "Having trouble, Haruhi?"

"Shut up!" She responded.

"Enough!" Hanabi intervened. A fourth noise was heard.

"Maruya Mana speaking. I too am still climbing the tower." Maruya reported. "I have belief that this may be the Uchiha's defense mechanism to wear down foes for their higher ranks, over."

"Why wasn't I told about this?" Haruhi said through the microphone.

"Because you wanted to go after Takai, which happened to be the tallest tower?" Hanabi replied. "Over."

"Ahhh, over."

"Such a drag, over..." After a while, the Inuzuka twins and Konohamaru didn't respond.

"Hitsuin, Kitsuin, Sarutobi, report, over." Hanabi ordered. There was still no answer. Until, the fifth noise came.

"Hitsuin, here!" She said in distress. "Things aren't going well with me and my brother! We're being beaten by an Uchiha duo, over!" And in the room where the Inuzuka twins and their puppies were, they were being overwhelmed by the two, almost identical Uchiha pair. Their attack style was like a wild dance, but their was one aspect: it was completely in rhythm and symmetry as they used wild Taijutsu attacks to beat up the four.

"Your no match..." Uhen said.

"For our beautiful combination." Sahou said in rhythm. They charged once again, jumping in complete sync for an aerial attack. The twins dodged, and thankfully evaded the attack, and what was better for them, the Uchiha duo landed out of sync, something Sahou apprehended Uhen for. "You idiot! You caused our formation to go off! How can you be so stupid!"

"I'm not the stupid one, stupid!" Uhen argued.

"Now's our chance!" Kitsuin said. His puppy, Okami, jumped up and transformed into a wilder version of Kitsuin, whilst Kitsuin mimicked. "You ready, sis?"

"Ready!" Hitsuin said, who took the left flank, with her and Koinu in the same state. The four attacked by charging in a spinning formation.

"Combination Jutsu!" They commanded. "Four-Beast Fang Over Fang!" The wild attack made a direct hit to the distracted foes as the two dog-users landed unharmed. Sahou recovered with a growl, but smiled, keeping his composture.

"I see you have some nice symmetry movements too." He said with a grin.

"Our moves must have inspired you." Uhen said with a chuckle.

"Heck no!" Kitsuin growled.

"Our father is the greatest dog-user in the entire Leaf Village!" Kitsuin said. "We learned the best from him, and his favourite pet, Akamaru!" Hitsuin remembered the time far back in the past. A younger Hitsuin and Kitsuin had finally gotten their very own Ninja Dogs, from their father and mother, Kiba and Hinata Inuzuka. Kiba had grown more tougher over the years, along with more gentler towards Hinata, after they married; he wore a Jounin's jacket, with a grey shirt and pants. Hinata has grown much more beautiful, with her long dark pale blue hair grown even longer and tied in a very long plait. She wore a white and blue jacket with deep blue pants; this was mostly her casual attire if she wasn't on missions or important business.

"_They're the best, mom and dad_!" Kitsuin cheered as the tinier puppies licked them wildly.

"_Now, children_." Hinata gently soothed. "_You need to pick a name for the little ones_."

"_Name_?" Hitsuin asked in question and began thinking of a name. "_Puppy will do_!" The little puppy grew a little nervous at the name.

"_I've already chosen my name! You'l be Okami_!" Kitsuin said happily. The little dog, now called Okami, licked his face feverishly.

"_That's a cool name_!" Hitsuin jeered. Kiba came forward and lifted Hitsuin and her puppy up.

"_Puppy sounds like a good name, but what else can we call her_?" Kiba said with a smile. Hitsuin put her finger to her lip in thought.

"_Doggy_?" Hitsuin suggested with a silly expression. Hinata smiled at her daughter's lovliness.

"_Try again._.." Kiba encouraged. Hitsuin looked to the lovely little puppy's eyes and thought of a fantastic name.

"_I know! I know! Koinu_!" Hitsuin announced happily. The little puppy barked in joy and licked Hitsuin without end.

"_She likes it_!" Hinata said happily. Once the names were decided, the Inuzuka twins and their puppies went to training with their father teaching them the basic Inuzuka clan Jutsu. After three solid days of training, they were tired and worn out.

"_Come on, kids! You gotta keep trying or you'll never be as good as me_!" Kiba encouraged as the two were crouching in their garden in exhaustion. The puppies were likewise.

"_Can't we...just rest for five minutes, dad_?" Asked Kitsuin. Hinata, who was watching from the canopy, had a brilliant idea and walked to her training children.

"_Give it one more try, children, and I will make your favourite meal for dinner tonight_." She said. This made the children, and even the dogs, react favouribly.

"_You mean it_?" They said together. Hinata nodded with a smile. They instantly jumped up, with their faithful canines jumping on top of them in a battle stance.

"_Alright, let's go_!" they said preparing their Jutsu one more time.

Back in the present day, Hitsuin grew a smile at her happy memories with her mom and dad and rose to the challenge of Uhen and Sahou.

"We can't back down now, brother!" Hitsuin said.

"Yeah! We won't be able to face Aunt Hanabi if we do." Kitsuin said. He pressed the speaker on his transmitter. "Kitsuin, here. We've gained the upper hand. No need to fret." This had a very good impact on Hanabi, as she heard it, she gave a sigh of relief.

"_Thank goodness_..." She whispered, making absolute sure her transmitter wasn't on. When she was sure, she pressed the microphone. "Very well. Good luck. Over and out." She finally left the twins to their fight, but there was one person who was yet to report: Konohamaru. Often, he'd be the first to report, but the fact he didn't was strange. She looked to a nearby window to see that Konohamaru's tower was directly next to her's. She gave a loud sigh. "Sarutobi, your always a thorn at my side." She took a step back and ran full speed for the window. Using her Chakra, she burst through the window unharmed by the glass shards and used her Chakra further to propell herself to Konohamaru's tower. She made it by bursting through another window which led her to the stairs. Without worrying for herself, she ran up the stairs to see what, or who, was taking Konohamaru so long that he couldn't answer.

It wasn't a long trip up the stairs; her tower was relatively tall, but not compared to Konohamaru's tower, which did give her a good head start. Eventually though, she made it to the door Konohamaru once treaded. The doors were knocked down and led into an infernal abyss of darkness. She focussed slightly.

"This is Sarutobi's Chakra..." She muttered. "Wind-Style. Quite powerful. Used not more than fifteen minutes ago. Sarutobi's been here." With bravery in her heart, she edged forwards into the darkness. She took a few more steps forward and the place lit up in flames on candles, just like before. And on the very same position as last time, stood the same Uchiha woman, Nomi Uchiha.

"My, they just keep coming and coming." She said rather calmly. Hanabi tensioned.

"If what you say is true, then you must have encountered Sarutobi?" She asked.

"If Sarutobi, you mean the tall handsome fellow." She replied. Then she gave an evil giggle. "You could say we crossed paths." Hanabi was astounded. If they met, obviously Konohamaru would have to fight. And if this Uchiha girl was still standing, then Konohamaru was...

"What have you done with Konohamaru!" Hanabi screamed at Nomi. The Uchiha didn't flinch at Hanabi's rage. Hanabi's anger grew and grew with each stalled second. "I demand you to tell me what you've done with Konohamaru!"

"Are you sure you want to be blaming me for something I didn't do?" She asked. Just then, Hanabi felt a presence behind her. She wheeled around with a Kunai in her hand, in case it was another Uchiha. but as it turned out, Hanabi spun around to see Konohamaru, as the two were face-to-face...or face to chest, as Konohamaru was taller.

"Hey, put that somewhere else, before you poke someone's eye out." He said, just as cheery as ever.

"S-Sarutobi!" Hanabi yelled in surprise. But in the deepest recesses of her mind, she gave a mental sigh of relief, knowing Konohamaru was unharmed. "W-Why didn't you answer my report request?"

"I was trying to go for the stealthy kill. But when you showed up, I guess we can work two on one to take her down!" He got into a battle stance behind Hanabi as she done the same.

"See?" Nomi said. "He's fine."

"_Wait...If Sarutobi was going for the stealthy kill, how did she know he was there_?" Thought Hanabi strangely.

"Though. That would depend on your opinion of 'fine'." Nomi finished. Then, the unexpected happened, Hanabi felt a Kunai slash her back. It was painful, but she swiftly jumped away. Her eyes widened in shock to see the attacker to be none other than Konohamaru.

"S-Sarutobi! What is the meaning of this?" Hanabi screamed. Nomi gave a hearty laugh.

"I nearly gave myself away with that excuse." She said while approaching Konohamaru. "But, I'm glad my little servant was able to provide some use." Hanabi was shocked to see Nomi leaning herself very sexually on Konohamaru's shoulder, with the latter not making any attempt to be rid of her.

"K-Konohamaru..." Hanabi whispered in shock. Nomi laughed once more.

"Oh, don't take it to heart. Konohamaru-kun here isn't attacking personally. No, no. You could say I'm more controlling him. Like a puppet to my strings." She took from her cloak a small miniature figurine of Konohamaru. "With his own soul!"

It took her long enough, but Maruya finally managed to defeat her Uchiha opponent: a largely built Uchiha with the same clothing as all the others. He lay on the ground, having been delivered the final blow, with Maruya's Kensei Sentou attack.

"Damn it..." He muttered. "Yamishin-sama...forgive me..." And with those words, he died.

"Phew! That was quite a tough battle." Maruya said, wiping her pretty face of sweat. She looked to her palm. "Sensei, your Jutsu's proving more and more powerful each time I use it..." With the sentimentals done, she began doing some math on how many opponents are left. "Okay, as far as I can tell, there're three Uchiha left. One for Haruhi, one for those cute twins and one for Konohamaru-kun..." Then the same thing went through Maruya's head as it did with Hanabi's. Konohamaru didn't reply to the report request, so something must be wrong, a feeling she couldn't shake.. "Konohamaru..."

Haruhi, despite her exhaustion, kept climbing the endless flights of stairs. It became more and more fruitless with each stair travelled. But, then it came. A glimmering light at the end of the tunnel.

"Thank goodness!" She huffed. She made it to the top floor, to see that the door, which most of her allies been through was burst from it's hinges and lying in a destroyed state. "Could this be...Takai-kun's doing?" She approached forward with a little fear of what lay ahead. But she seen on the inside of the door's opening there was nothing to be afraid of. The room was the same as all the other rooms her allies been through: long, open spaced and was perfect for fighting in. Haruhi stepped forward to see that someone was indeed in the room with her. On the far side of the room stood a very familiar face. The more she stepped forward, the more it was revealed who it was; Takai's sister and companion: Mitsuko Uchiha...

"You..."


	27. Cornered! The Fights Turn Ugly!

**Cornered! The Fights Turn Ugly!**

Hanabi looked at the little figurine of Konohamaru that Nomi Uchiha held in her hand; it was an exact replica of the Team 8 leader, just stitched with fabric and had a blank look, the same as the real Konohamaru did too.

"Wh-What did you do-" Hanabi screamed, but was cut off by a sharp pain that made her squeal: the slash to her back. Blood dripped from the wound, staining her vest. Nomi gave a superior laugh.

"I think I've told you far enough, Leaf woman." Nomi taunted. "Oh, Konohamaru-kun, be a dear and rip this girl to pieces!" Konohamaru made a step forward, and dashed for the weakened Hanabi and made a punch for her. Hanabi rolled out of the way of the dangerous attack.

"_So I have to fight Sarutobi into submission_?" Asked Hanabi to herself. "_I'm not worried, I defeated him once before_." Hanabi activated her Byakugan and dashed to Konohamaru, preparing a Gentle Fist attack designed to render him unconscious.

"I can do it again!" Hanabi yelled and her attack made contact right on Konohamaru's chest. But something didn't feel right, he was still conscious. Konohamaru grabbed Hanabi's hand with immense grip and smashed her against the nearby wall, crumbling a hole into it and injuring Hanabi's side where her and the wall made contact. Once the attack was finished, he tossed Hanabi away like a rag doll. "Why didn't my attack work? He should be unconscious by now!" Nomi laughed once more at Hanabi's humility.

"Konohamaru-kun is in a state where he's not conscious, but not exactly unconscious either." Nomi explained. "He is like a marionette to my strings. And as long as you are fighting a comrade, their is no victory for you!" Hanabi got up and smiled.

"Is that right?" Hanabi asked, calmly brushing a blood mark on her lip. "Then all I have to do is kill you and get Konohamaru back!" Hanabi attacked with a Gentle Fist towards Nomi, however the female Uchiha remained calm.

"Save me." Nomi said emotionlessly. And indeed, like a puppet, Konohamaru intercepted the attack by Hanabi, as he lifelessly took the pain.

"What?" Hanabi gasped. Konohamaru countered with a painful punch to the stomach as Hanabi was thrown back once more.

"Did you really think my own puppet would let me be attacked?" Nomi laughed. "Fool!" Hanabi coughed up a current of blood.

"I'll...have to up my game a little...if I'm to survive..." Hanabi panted. She got up with persistence and got into a stance. "Prepare yourself, Konohamaru Sarutobi! I will not show mercy!" And the two engaged.

Haruhi came face-to-face with Takai's sister, Mitsuko, with a look of surprise at her appearance.

"M-Mitsuko..." Haruhi spoke.

"Ahhh, you remembered my name!" Mitsuko said with high esteem. "I'm honoured that the daughter of the Sixth Hokage was able to remember me." Haruhi tensioned at the mocking.

"Where is Takai-kun?" Asked Haruhi. "If the two of you are siblings, then you should-"

"That's not important, for the time being." Mitsuko said. "What is important is why you are here."

"Sight-seeing." Haruhi mocked sarcastically. "I'm here to bring Takai-kun back!"

"Was my brother breaking every bone in your body too subtle for you?" Countered Mitsuko. "He even made it easier for you by saying not to come if you value your life."

"I don't care! He's my friend!"

"Hah! You simpleton! Takai's not interested in a prima donna like you." Haruhi was ignoring Mitsuko's taunts and focussing on looking around the room where they stood. "Aren't you listening?"

"My friends gave reports of Uchiha minions guarding the towers." Haruhi said. Mitsuko laughed.

"You really are dense!" Mitsuko laughed. "If I'm here and the minion is not, put two and two together, dummy!"

"You defeated him?" Haruhi asked in surprise.

"Hmph! Takai did. He was the strongest guardian in all of Castle Mashin, and we took him out for you; what do we get?" There was a long pause, Haruhi was expecting it to be a rhetorical question. "Well? Do I hear a thank you? If we decided to take another tower and you waltzed up here, you'd have walked to your death!" Haruhi gasped at this.

"Ummm...Th-Thank you..." Haruhi spoke humbly.

"Well, least you know your manners. Now, as I was saying. I highly suggest you and your friends leave."

"No!" Haruhi yelled. "Takai-kun's my friend! And I'm not leaving until I get him back!"

"And I keep telling you, your place is not needed here!" Mitsuko yelled back. "Do you have any idea what your about to get yourself into?"

"A group of Uchiha by the looks of it. But if my dad could defeat them, then so can I!"

"You never cease to amaze me! The Uchiha aren't pushovers; your friend Shikari nearly died trying to beat one!" Haruhi's eyes widened at this. "And the opponents that are in the tower awaiting you are one hundred times stronger. Including the leader, Yamishin!"

"Yamishin..." Haruhi said to herself.

"Yes! His power is so great, even a percentage of his power is enough to crush you and your Leaf team! Weaklings like you don't stand a chance against him!" Haruhi reacted to this and attempted to punch Mitsuko, but she blocked with her palm, putting the two in a violent power struggle.

"Don't you dare call me or my friends weak!" Haruhi screamed. "You can mock me all you like, but when you mock my friends, I'll kill you!" Mitsuko sighed.

"I'll have to pound the sense into you then!" She then used her strength to throw Haruhi back. "Only my brother is destined to defeat Yamishin. When you of the Leaf recklessly attack Yamishin with hope of victory as your main weapon...**there is no hope**!"

The Inuzuka twins were certainly feeling the strain of those words, as the Uchiha duo's strength, speed and even Jutsu were getting more and more elaborate. The duo appeared behind the twins, they were about to counter attack, but the Uchiha appeared again behind them and gracefully punched them away.

"Surrender now!" Uhen commanded.

"Or prepare to lose!" Sahou continued. The twins got up with a shake to absorb the pain.

"I got myself an idea." Kitsuin grinned.

"I read you loud and clear, brother!" Hitsuin said with confidence as the puppies barked in happiness. The two jumped to both ends of the room, with Sahou and Uhen at the direct centre of the room.

"_They'll have to separate to attack us together. They'll be hindered if they can't fight us and fight symmetrically_!" Kitsuin thought in victory. Sahou and Uhen sighed in boredom to this.

"You Leaf ninja." Uhen said.

"Are so predictable." Sahou finished. They formed hand seals in immaculate rhythm.

"Fire-Style - Fireball Jutsu!" They said together and looked away perfectly towards the two and fired their Jutsu to both dog-users at the same time.

"I didn't plan on that!" Kitsuin gasped in horror. The two quickly dodged, but not before Hitsuin got unlucky and had the side of her arm scorched by the fireball, making her scream in agony. "Hitsuin!" Kitsuin quickly ran to his sister. "Are you okay?" Koinu was whimpering at her master's injured arm.

"Y-Yeah...I should be fine..." Hitsuin mumbled in pain. The Uchiha duo laughed evilly.

"You're finished." Sahou laughed.

"Dog-lovers." Uhen spoke too. Kitsuin stood up in defiance towards the two.

"I never expected we'd have to use that Jutsu against these two." Kitsuin said, cracking his knuckles.

"No, Kitsuin! It's too risky!" Hitsuin warned. "Even if you find the time to use it, if it doesn't work, you'll be horribly vulnerable!"

"We can't exactly beat them, can we, sis?" Kitsuin countered. Koinu licked Hitsuin's face to raise her spirits.

"Fine." Hitsuin said. "But I'll distract these guys."

"Wait!" Kitsuin warned. "Without Koinu, you can't fight!" Hitsuin went forward.

"Don't worry, brother." Hitsuin said with a smile. "I'm sure I can improvise with this Jutsu." And when Hitsuin turned to look at her brother, Kitsuin was shocked to see that Hitsuin's eyes began to glow and veins were marking itself around her face.

"The...Byakugan..."

The fight between Hanabi and Konohamaru really began to turn up the heat. Hanabi was engaging Konohamaru with a Gentle Fist Taijutsu clash, while Konohamaru either blocked Hanabi's attacks or tried to attack Hanabi once more; though her speed was getting better at reading Konohamaru's movements, she was growing more exhausted with each missed hit for her.

"Heh!" Smirked Nomi to herself. "I misjudged the Leaf. They can deliver a very intense battle if they want to." Hanabi dodged another attack, and used her Gentle Fist Taijutsu numerous times on Konohamaru to the chest.

"_There has to be a weakspot to the Uchiha's Jutsu_." Thought Hanabi. While she thought of this, Konohamaru blindly attacked Hanabi successfully, throwing her back.

"Interested in my power's capabilities yet?" Asked Nomi.

"I'd like an insight." Hanabi said gaining herself up again.

"My Sharingan has quite the formidible ability." Nomi began. "If there was a name to describe it's talent, I'd call it 'Siren Control'."

"Siren control?"

"Yes. As you probably know, Sirens are famous for luring men, with their gorgeously beautiful looks, to their deaths. My Jutsu is no different. Konohamaru-kun is under my control, thanks to the help of my wondrous good looks." Hanabi growled.

"_She's so arrogant." _Thought Hanabi to herself.

"As you probably would have guessed, you are unaffected because you are a woman. If you would have been a man, that would be two ninja from the Leaf under my control."

"So the only way to truly defeat you is to kill Konohamaru..." Hanabi said.

"I wouldn't bet my life on it, after all, you never know if another one of your male colleagues will join the fray. Though, you are free to kill your comrade if you feel it will defeat me." Nomi laughed, much to Hanabi's annoyance.

"_That doll_..." Hanabi strategized to herself while continuing the fight with Konohamaru, staying on focus whilst thinking up her plan. "_She said she was controlling Sarutobi with his soul...If I were to make a guess, I'd say she's controlling Sarutobi with the doll she had earlier by stealing his soul and putting it inside that doll._.." She dodged an attack and kicked Konohamaru away. "_This is going to be a risk...but..." _Konohamaru ran up to Hanabi with ultra-speed, presumably through his natural affinity with Wind and punched her with great force, sending her flying to the other end of the battleground. Pitifully, she tried to get up, but was too weakened to even move. Konohamaru walked forwards to deliver the final blow; he pulled her forwards with his foot and was ready to punch her with a fatal blow to the heart. That was until Nomi stopped her puppet.

"Sorry, Konohamaru-kun." Nomi said with passion. "I'll kill this Leaf trash." She took from Konohamaru's ninja bag a kunai and aimed it for Hanabi's chest. "Die!" The stab was successful, but the death wasn't. The Hanabi that was attacked dispersed in a puff of smoke. "A Shadow Clone?" Then from the ground began to crumble and the real Hanabi rose up from the hole. Her attack wasn't to surprise attack her, but with great speed, she took from Nomi's pocket the Konohamaru doll, threw it up into the air with an attached paper bomb and it exploded to a million pieces. "No!" Nomi in sheer rage, charged to Hanabi with the Kunai still in her hand. "How dare you meddle with my powers! I'll never forgive you!" She was ready to attack, but Hanabi's plan was a complete success, as Konohamaru dashed in front of the incoming attack, blocked the Kunai's incoming blade with his bare hand and saved his comrade.

"Sarutobi! Is that..." Hanabi gasped in happiness.

"Yeah..." Konohamaru replied, breaking his unnatural silence. "I seen the whole thing while being controlled. I'm sorry, Hanabi..." And true to his word, he kicked Nomi away with a powerful kick. "If it's any good, allow me to kill this Uchiha scum who did this."

"No, I'll aid you. It's clear this foe is powerful, and taking her down will be no easy task." Hanabi said, getting beside Konohamaru ready to face Nomi.

"Alright, Uchiha! It's two against one! We'll let you live if you give us the information we need!" Konohamaru reasoned. Nomi growled behind the pain of the last attack, clutching her stomach in agony.

"Don't think we Uchiha are weaklings, moron!" Nomi screamed to Konohamaru, and regained her composture with an evil laugh. "Truly an amazing display, Leaf woman! By destroying the Soul Puppet I had, you not only saved your friend from eternal slavery, but you also granted him full immunity to my powers."

"Well that's a relief." Konohamaru sighed in comfort.

"But like I said, I wouldn't bet my life on winning after freeing my servant." Nomi went on. "After all, if all else fails on my part, I have just the thing to ensure victory." Her Sharingan eyes turned blood red with a spiral pattern to it.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan!" Hanabi identified with her Byakugan. But before they could retaliate, Nomi made the first move. She formed numerous hand seals and placed her hand on the ground.

"Sharingan Art - Summoning Jutsu!" She called. And with a puff of smoke, it almost appeared that nothing was summoned to her aid, but instead, it was more worse than they thought: from the ground burst forth a hand that forced the two Jounin to jump back to avoid it's grip. From where they stood came another, until the field was bursting with hands from the ground that pulled themselves upwards to reveal many Jounin-ranked ninja with many appearances, all from different Villages. The two were shocked at the sudden number of ninja that appeared.

"What the hell is this?" Konohamaru yelled in shock. Nomi laughed once more.

"You didn't think Konohamaru-kun was the first puppet I controlled?" Nomi mocked. The two grouped together back-to-back to combat the massive number of foes, with their chances of survival slim at best, they knew they had to win.


	28. Nomi's Wrath! An Unexpected Power!

**Nomi's Wrath! An Unexpected Power!**

Konohamaru and Hanabi were surrounded by the hordes of 'ninja puppets' conjured up by Nomi Uchiha. They stood back-to-back to avoid being completely surrounded.

"Got any plans?" Asked Hanabi with tension in her voice.

"I was about to ask the same thing..." Konohamaru said humbly. Hanabi growled.

"Should have expected something from you, Sarutobi..." Hanabi laughed. "Well, there is only one plan we have..." And at that instant, Hanabi charged into the endless hordes of ninja slaves. "And that is to fight!" She began using her advanced Taijutsu to knock away any ninja that came near her; they never stood a chance as they fell one by one like bowling pins.

"Guess that's true!" Konohamaru said with high inspiration, readying himself against his half of the enemies. He charged and began to fight them off with every bit of energy he had. Nomi watched the two fight with dignity and smiled.

"How long can you last against my minions?" Asked Nomi, as her eyes began to glow even darker red. The ninja around the two began to go into formation and began forming hand seals. This surprised the two fighters.

"They can cast Ninjutsu too?" Hanabi cursed. Konohamaru and Hanabi jumped up and dodged a Fire Ninjutsu wave that cooled when they landed.

"We'll have to watch ourselves." Konohamaru said to Hanabi. "We don't know what other tricks they may pull out of their sleeves."

"Then I say we pull some tricks out of our own!" Hanabi cried in passion as she ran forward and was beginning to get surrounded by the enemy's numbers. But Hanabi was well prepared for this onslaught and Chakra swirled all around her as she span tremendously fast. "Eight Trigrams - Palm Rotation!" The huge numbers flew all around the battle field, greatly weakened by this great attack, even stunning Konohamaru.

"Hanabi...You've certainly been keeping a few aces from the last time we fought, huh?" Konohamaru said with a smirk.

"Hah! I haven't even shown half the skills I've learned since the last time we fought!" Hanabi taunted.

"Well, time to show off my skills a bit." Konohamaru said, getting into position, forming many hand signs. "This Jutsu you might remember, Hyuga!" At that point the hordes of ninjas attacked and piled themselves onto Konohamaru, before he could get the chance to use his Jutsu.

"Sarutobi!" Hanabi screamed in worry. After a few seconds, there came a large glow.

"Wind Style - Tornado's Cry!" Konohamaru cried, and all the enemy's forces were repelled by Konohamaru's ultimate trump card. When Konohamaru was seen next, his entire body was enveloped with a blue Chakra glow.

"That's risky Konohamaru!" Hanabi said. "Using that Jutsu early in the fight means we'll need to take care of this fight immediately before you run out of Chakra!"

"That I'm aware of." Konohamaru spoke, with his voice slightly distorted from the Chakra's immense thickness. "That's why I intend to do just that!" He seemingly vanished and appeared in front of a ninja and punched him with immense force, so much so, the ninja was blasted away, crashing through the walls and truly defeated. Konohamaru smashed his way through any other ninja that came across his path, with immense kicks and punches that would kill a normal person stone dead with enough force. One ninja tried to sneak on Konohamaru from behind, but the attack was unsuccessful as Konohamaru sped past the attack and drop-kicked the attacking ninja, that made him crash through the floor, all the way to the bottom tower. Hanabi was again dealing with her foes like a true ninja of the Leaf, using her advanced Taijutsu to negate foes attacks and counter with an even stronger attack. The foes numbers were greatly waning, only being replaced by dead bodies that had no life in them. Overall, the two had the enemy outmatched...until...

"Enough..." Nomi spoke softly. This drew the attention of the two Leaf Jounin as the Uchiha woman stepped forward. The fights between Nomi's ninja slaves and Konohamaru and Hanabi seemed to have stopped altogether. "I grow tired of this fight, and with to end it now." Konohamaru just grew a smile.

"Heh! Was that before or after we started defeating your pawns?" Konohamaru taunted. Nomi was the only one smiling now.

"Your arrogance is laughable!" Nomi laughed. Then raised her hands into the air, as all Nomi's slaves began to disintegrate into ash with a blood red glow to them, and that glow passed on to Nomi, as that same glow enveloped her until it grew larger and larger.

"What the hell?" Hanabi whispered in shock, as Nomi's form began to change too. Her clothes were shredded by many rose thorns that coiled itself around Nomi's body, even covering most of her now naked flesh. But as the endless coils grew from seemingly nowehere, Nomi wasn't one bit harmed from them, even when the thorns were clearly touching her skin.

"Quite an impressive trick." Konohamaru said.

"That's the least of your worries!" Nomi laughed and from her hands curled five separate rose thorn vines that shot towards Konohamaru. Instinctively, he jumped to the side to dodge the attack, but even that attack was a fatal error. as the thorns turned to the side to encircle Konohamaru.

"Sarutobi, look out!" Hanabi warned.

"Don't worry, I got this covered!" Konohamaru assured. He blasted a large amount of Wind Chakra from all around him, thanks to the Tornado's Cry Jutsu. But even with this large Chakra wave, the thorns kept coming. "What the?" Then the worst happened, Konohamaru was wrapped on the limbs and neck with the rose thorns, but this time, the thorns dug into his skin painfully.

"Sarutobi!" Hanabi cried. But she had her own problems to worry about, as now rose thorns were racing towards her. "Damn it!" She quickly backflipped away from the lethal spiked vines, but even that wasn't enough, as one thorn deviated from the other's path and successfully wrapped around Hanabi's wrist. "Not good!" She landed and tried to sever the thorny bond, but it was too late, as she was wrapped round the same fashion as Konohamaru, as the thorns pierced her skin too, making her grimace in pain. Now both Leaf Jounin were trapped in Nomi's supreme rose thorns.

"You are very fortunate to have come this far, Leaf ninja." Nomi said with arrogance. "Not many enemies come this far to my third and final power!"

"Ughh..." Konohamaru growled, with the pain of the thorns digging in too deep. "What the hell is that Jutsu?"

"You must see the pattern now, surely, Konohamaru-kun." Nomi laughed. "My first two powers rely on male ninja to do my bidding. But if I am facing female ninja or have no more pawns at my disposal, I have this power to make my defenseless self a little more reliable! These thorns are completely immune to Chakra attacks, and can only be destroyed physically; which will be quite hard, since even a touch of them will cause you severe pain!" Hanabi coughed as the vines were choking in deeper. "Female power is surely the most strongest, wouldn't you say? We have the power to manipulate men to our will, make them to do our bidding without them even realising it, and even lead them to their deaths through their own blind desires! Poor little Konohamaru-kun was almost a victim of this!" Konohamaru had to agree with Nomi's insane logic; it may have been insane, but it was true.

"Only women like you who are satisfied with causing others pain, can say that!" Hanabi countered.

"Hmph! That is true, I have to admit." Nomi said with a smirk. "That's why I'll use these words to kill you!" Nomi increased the power in her thorns to strange and crush Konohamaru and Hanabi, to the point where they were cringing in pain. "Farewell, Leaf ninja. May you have a disastrous afterlife!"

But it was at this point where Konohamaru and Hanabi's fortunes were at their highest. Two paper-bomb-attached Kunai whizzed past the thorns, and exploded, blowing them away and freeing the greatly crushed Leaf ninja.

"What?" Nomi gasped in surprise, looking around the culprit.

"Looking for me?" Asked a familiar voice to the two. Nomi turned around to see none other than Maruya Mana as she punched Nomi with all her might into the middle of the field, greatly weakening her.

"Maruya!" Konohamaru cried in surprise. Maruya smiled in happiness to see her two friends safe.

"Looks like I arrived just in time." Maruya said. "My instincts on you were right. If I hadn't shown up when I did, you'd be dead." Konohamaru raised a smile, clutching the wounds which were most greatest.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Maruya." Konohamaru laughed. "It looks as though your stealth can come in handy whenever it pleases." Maruya giggled with modesty to this.

"Now, we better finish off this Uchiha, before we start-" Maruya said, but was cut off when she was grabbed from behind by Nomi, as the three Leaf ninja were stunned to see the Nomi that was attacked morphed into a pile of thorns that withered away. Maruya was held in the grip of Nomi, who was seething with anger.

"How dare you ruin my beautifl killing methods!" Nomi cursed. Maruya grimaced as Nomi's grip was getting stronger.

"Maruya!" Cried Konohamaru, still in pain. Then vines began to surround themselves like snakes around Maruya as she was pushed forward to separate the space between her and Nomi.

"I'll see to it you die a painful death!" Nomi called in anger, as she took from mid-air a long rose thorn whip and began cracking it through Maruya's ANBU Black Ops armour, that was causing her a great amount of pain, even her wrists and ankles were bleeding slightly.

"She's cruel!" Hanabi growled, watching in pain as the young ANBU girl gave cry after cry of pain with each crack of the whip. Finally, Nomi ceased.

"You shouldn't have interfered, girl!" Nomi laughed. "Your death would have been quick and merciless in the eyes of my companions if you hadn't decided to meddle in my affairs! But now, I'm going to make sure you die, slowly and painfully!" Then, Nomi pointed her palm towards Maruya, and a lone rose thorn shot out towards Maruya, with the intention of stabbing. Just then...

"Fire-Style - Fire Circle!" Called Konohamaru, as fire swirled around Maruya, and the rose thorns binding her were incinerated, along with the rose thorn racing towards her.

"What?" Cried Nomi.

"As I thought." Spoke the victorious voice of Konohamaru.

"What did you do?" Screamed Nomi in ultimate anger.

"I thought it was strange that Maruya's paper bomb explosions caused your thorns to wither and die, after hearing your statement that they cannot die through anything Chakra enhanced." Konohamaru explained. "Paper bombs have the same Chakra as any other Jutsu in order for them to ignite and explode. So then, I came up with a theory: your vines aren't affected by any Chakra attack, _except Fire-based attacks_!"

"What?" Nomi exclaimed.

"Fire?" Gasped Hanabi at it's simplicity.

"I had an uncertainty that it would work when you first used it, but after seeing Maruya doing it, I had a little more confidence in the attack and decided to do it to stop Maruya from getting hurt any longer." Konohamaru went on.

"Why you..." Nomi cursed. At that point, Maruya and Hanabi rejoined Konohamaru, despite their grueling injuries.

"I have a sneaky suspicion that the thorns around her also have the effect of Chakra negation." Konohamaru spoke to the two. "I need you to get me as close to her as possible, I have a plan."

"Alright!" The two girl companions spoke in unison. Immediately, all three charged for Nomi, thorn defenses or not.

"Don't think you've got me beaten yet!" Nomi screamed, sending a horde of thorns for the three. Hanabi and Maruya prepared hand signs.

"Fire-Style - Fire Blaster!" They called together and sent a wave of fire to protect Konohamaru as he readied a Kunai in a hopes to stab Nomi when he got close. Nomi sent wave after wave of rose thorn attacks, but all met the same fate in the Leaf women's Fire attacks. Just then, Hanabi and Maruya jumped away from Konohamaru when they were finally close enough.

"She's all yours, Sarutobi!" Called Hanabi.

"Get her, Konohamaru-kun!" Cried Maruya. Konohamaru raced towards Nomi, but all she did was smirk and use her thorns in the last second to disarm and bind Konohamaru once more, along with surprise-attacking and binding Hanabi and Maruya. Nomi laughed in victory.

"You're finished now!" She laughed. "I admit, you came very close, but the moment you chose to deviate from your Fire-strategy was the moment you failed in defeating me!" Konohamaru groaned at the thorns digging deep into him.

"Damn it!" Konohamaru cursed. "I was positive it would work..." Konohamaru loosened himself and didn't struggle. "Alright...I admit defeat...but there is one last request I would like." This raised the eyebrows of not just Nomi, but to Maruya and Hanabi too.

"Hmmm?" Nomi mumbled to herself. "What would that be?"

"Just a kiss from you would do." Konohamaru charmed. Instantly, Hanabi and Maruya's jaws dropped to the ground in shock.

"What the hell, Sarutobi! This is a fight for our lives, not a chance for you to get your first kiss!" Hanabi barked behind the pain. Nomi just laughed.

"Oh, very well." Nomi spoke. "I guess it can't hurt to deliver the final pleas to a senseless man, as well as prove my point that female power is superior!" The vines around Konohamaru beckoned him forwards as he grew nearer and nearer to Nomi for the kiss he so desired. Nomi rested her thorn-covered arms on Konohamaru's blood-stained Jounin's flak jacket and began to edge a lot more forwards, with both parties ready to enjoy the next few seconds.

That was until Nomi had fallen into Konohamaru's trap. Konohamaru burst into flames and exploded, making Nomi recoil in surprise, and to see that the thorns surrounding her body were withering.

"A Fire Shadow Clone?" Maruya identified.

"No! You tricked me!" Nomi screamed in anger. Then Konohamaru emerged from the flames of the last attack with a ball of Chakra ready.

"Rasengan!" He called and plunged the ball into Nomi's chest, sending shockwaves throughout the arena, as well as Nomi's deafening screams of pain. She was blasted way back and collided painfully with the wall as she lay in agony with withered rose thorns around her. Konohamaru stood above her. "Sorry to disappoint you, Uchiha. What you said about female power being supreme was partly true. But it appears women can succumb to their desires by men if they wanted." Nomi gave a smile behind her weakened state.

"I suppose that's true..." She coughed, and with one last weakened laugh at the irony of her last moments, breathed her last and died, freeing Hanabi and Maruya. All three Leaf ninja stood above Nomi's dead corpse, staying silent to respect her death. Then, their moment of silence had ended, with Maruya breaking it.

"You could have told us you were gonna kiss her, y'know!"


	29. The Fights are Over, Or is it?

**The Fights are Over, Or is it?**

Even with her Byakugan active, and adopting the Gentle Fist style Taijutsu, Hitsuin Inuzuka was still no match for the combined forces of Uhen and Sahou's superior tag-team skills. Hitsuin composed herself to fight the duo, despite the numerous injuries she succumbed to.

"Don't you see, child?" Asked Uhen.

"You are completely out of your comfort zone in battle techniques." Said Sahou.

"You were trained to use your canines in battle." Uhen spoke.

"So why, all of a sudden, switch to the Hyuga's fighting style?" Continued Sahou.

"I am of Hyuga blood, as is my brother." Hitsuin replied with fatigue. "If I cannot fight with Koinu, I will use my Gentle Fist to carry on the fight." The Uchiha twins spat a laugh.

"Speaking of your sibling." Sahou said.

"Why isn't he helping you fight?" Uhen asked.

"The same goes for your puppy." Sahou said.

"Are they too afraid to fight?" Uhen mocked. Hitsuin growled at the Uchiha twins mockery. Kitsuin, who was standing back from the fight, silently gathering Chakra, also growled at this.

"Don't disrespect my brother!" Hitsuin screamed. Then, with all her strength, she charged for the two. They gracefully dodged a fatal Gentle Fist by side-stepping in opposite directions. This left Hitsuin wide open and they took this chance and painfully elbowed Hitsuin on both sides of her rib cage. She gave a painfully scream as she fell to the floor in defeat.

"Wildly attacking isn't going to win fights, girl." Uhen mocked with an evil smile.

"Symmetry and precision is what can!" Sahou said in victory.

"So, brother. How shall we kill this girl?" Asked Uhen.

"Any way shall satisfy Yamishin-sama." Sahou said. Uhen grinned to this and the two twins pulled Hitsuin up by her hair and readied a Kunai each.

"It's been a blast, girl." Sahou said.

"But we were the better duo." Uhen said. But before the attack could be made...

"Get your filthy hands off my sister..." Spoke Kitsuin in dark malice. The two looked over to Kitsuin to see him and the two puppies no longer quietly gathering Chakra, but gathering it at an alarming rate.

"That Chakra!" Uhen whispered in shock.

"He must be stopped!" Sahou said. But, before this statement could be put into action, Hitsuin regained herself, and tripped Uhen by the feet, and deliberately missing Sahou. When the male Uchiha looked to her sibling lying on the ground from the trip, a vein popped in his head. "You fool!" He made a punch for her, which made contact.

"Why are you attacking me for, idiot?" Uhen yelled.

"You dare lose symmetry in the middle of a fight?" Yelled Sahou. "Such foolishness is not forgivable!"

"I didn't lose it on purpose! That Leaf girl made me lose it!" Uhen bickered. "Besides, you should have been paying attention to her!"

"No! You should have!" Sahou bickered back. But, the bickering was stopped, when Kitsuin's Chakra reached it's peak. They both looked around to see him and the dogs immersed in Chakra.

"Three-Man-Beast Transformation Combo!" Kitsuin called. "Three-Headed Cerberus!" What emerged from the giant wave of Chakra made the Uchiha twins' jaws drop to the floor in utter dumbfoundment: A giant black canine emerged, with three heads, matted fur, red eyes and three devil-designed tails.

"Wh-What the hell is that?" Uhen whispered in shock. Hitsuin quickly sped to the other side of the hall and collapsed on the floor.

"Now, brother!" She called. The giant three-headed dog jumped back, and sprayed a large amount of saliva on the two Uchiha.

"Ughhh! Disgusting!" Sahou barked. But, when he tried to step forward, he noticed his foot was stuck to the floor.

"I can't move my feet!" Cried Uhen.

"It's the Inuzuka's special dog mixture." Hitsuin explained. "A thick cement made from the saliva of our canine. They can't produce enough when in puppy form, but when older or in this state, they can paralyze an army's worth of ninja in it's power." The giant canine now prepared a large amount of Chakra, and with an almighty charge, began spinning as fast as it could.

"Fang Over Fang - Diablos Strike!" Called the voice of Kitsuin as the spinning of blue Chakra turned black and finally attacked the twins with it. The attack was so powerful, the entire top tower caved in and covered the entire room with rubble. Hitsuin emerged through willpower alone.

"Kitsuin!" She called. "Koinu! Okami!" She ran over to a less destroyed section of the room to find her three companions lying on the ground weakened.

"Hitsuin...Did I do good?" Kitsuin asked. Hitsuin smiled happily and hugged him.

"You were brilliant." She praised.

"That's good..." Kitsuin sighed. The Uchiha twins weren't so fortunate; they were alive, but only just, having had their arms crushed and middle torso obliterated with the attack - ironically, the injuries they sustained were on perfect symmetry. Uhen gave a blooded cough.

"Brother..." She weakly uttered.

"D-Don't talk, sister..." Sahou replied. "You need to save your strength..." He painfully gasped at the pain he was subjected too.

"Do you...remember when we first received the Sharingan?" Asked Uhen.

"Yes...Yamishin-sama...he promised us a better life, right?"

"Do you think...we succeeded in making him proud?" Uhen asked.

"More than anything, sister..." Sahou said. Uhen gave a weak smile.

"Thank goodness..." And with one last breathe, both siblings had finally died; knowing they had fulfilled what they can in making their enigmatic master proud.

"May you rest in peace, Uchiha..." Kitsuin said, looking at the dead bodies of the Uchiha. And for the four Inuzuka twins, they decided to rest up, and await further instructions, but not before getting some well deserved sleep.

Seven out of eight towers were successfully liberated; Shikari, Ayane, Konohamaru, Hanabi, Maruya, Tatsuno and now the Inuzuka twins have defeated their respective opponents, with or without aid from the others. The eighth and most tallest tower, was in progress of being liberated, however, by the one who made the mission possible...

Haruhi looked all around her; her opponent, Takai's sister, Mitsuko, had seemingly vanished into thin air and her whereabouts was unknown.

"It's not easy, is it?" Called the voice of Mitsuko. "Following the Uchiha's Genjutsu?" Haruhi continued to look wildly around the battlefield for her. "You're powerless..." Haruhi gasped and jumped back to see Mitsuko was directly behind her, and if she remained in that spot for a second more, she would have been stabbed by a Kunai.

"Why don't you quit your tricks and fight me for real?" Haruhi snapped as she landed from the jump. Mitsuko grinned.

"Genjutsu is one of the Uchiha's most strongest attributes." Mitsuko lectured. Suddenly, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She darted her eyes towards the person to see it was Mitsuko. Haruhi jumped back to avoid what attack Mitsuko might do, and seen that the Mitsuko she was staring at vanished. "I can control anything the human eye sees. So long as you don't possess the Sharingan, you can never see past my illusions." Haruhi grimaced at Mitsuko's overconfidence.

"You've got a lot in common with Takai-kun than I thought." Haruhi said. Mitsuko raised an eyebrow. "You're both very big-headed in battle." Mitsuko, enraged by the statement rushed to Haruhi and attempted to punch her, but a block ended such an attack.

"How dare you speak of my brother like that!" Mitsuko screamed. But before Haruhi could counter-attack, Mitsuko quickly kicked Haruhi, which made her painfully crash into the wall. Mitsuko quickly regained herself. "Why are you fighting me for anyway? We both share a common enemy, so you should really be treating me as the enemy of the enemy; which is your friend." Haruhi quickly got up, to disguise any signs of weakness.

"I'm fighting you, Mitsuko, because I'm going to prove to you and Takai-kun that my strength is nothing to laugh over!" Haruhi replied.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, girl." Mitsuko said. "You're definitely strong." While saying this, she tore the left sleeve of her blouse that revealed a heavily banadaged arm, that had blood seeping through it. "You did that on our last encounter." Haruhi's eyes widened at such a fact. "You don't remember? Then that means that wild power you had was only conjured by a fluke." Then, finally ran to Haruhi's location with a victorious smile. "Aren't I lucky?" Haruhi quickly dodged a punch made by Mitsuko which made the wall she punched instead crack without end.

"_She's strong_!" Thought Haruhi. And, once again, Haruhi had fallen into Mitsuko's Genjutsu, as the real Mitsuko was behind her during the dodge. As Haruhi couldn't dodge, Mitsuko punched Haruhi away. This time, the punch was so strong, that instead of colliding with the wall painfully, she collided while destroying half of it. Haruhi landed on the ground with a good chunk of destroyed brick littering itself on her.

"Come on, girl! Don't tell me that's all you have!" Mitsuko taunted. Haruhi got up, not wanting to show her weakness.

"Don't think you have this fight won yet." Haruhi spoke, wiping a blood stain from her head, which came from the collision on the wall. "I've barely only begun!" Haruhi readied herself. Mitsuko gave a laugh.

"Looks like I'll have to up my game too." Mitsuko said. Instantly, she charged with lightning swift speed and kicked Haruhi once more. But she actually struck a Shadow Clone, which vanished on impact. Then, from behind the smoke, came Haruhi with a Rasengan. "What?"

"Rasengan!" Haruhi yelled, plunging the Chakra ball into Mitsuko, blasting her back onto one of the pillars. Haruhi approached and stood over the weakened Mitsuko. "Am I strong enough for you now?" Mitsuko however gave a grin.

"Nowhere near it." Mitsuko weakly coughed. She then pointed to the middle of the battlefield. Haruhi was shocked to find that she was yet again caught in Mitsuko's Genjutsu, and the real was standing where she was before she made her move.

"How...?" Haruhi said, with stunned eyes.

"You can't beat me." Mitsuko said in high arrogance. "You can attack me from now until the end of the world, and you still wouldn't hit me!"

"And you expect to beat me with just doing fancy Genjutsu tricks?" Haruhi spat.

"Actually, I do." Mitsuko said. "You must know of the Mangekyou Sharingan, do you not?" Mitsuko closed her eyes, Haruhi gasped and readied herself.

"Whatever you have planned, I won't let you do it!" Haruhi yelled, and charged for Mitsuko.

"I find that hard to believe, since..." Mitsuko opened her eyes once more to reveal a blood red version of her Sharingan, with the black commas morphing into a three-pointed star that pointed outwards. "I already have." Haruhi's sight began to go fuzzy. She tried to shake the phenomona away, but she was eventually enveloped in a dark grey fog.

"What is this?" Asked Haruhi. She began walking to see if she can get anywhere where the fog was less dense; but no matter where she went, the fog was all the same. "Hello? Mitsuko!" The girl that had the Mangekyo Sharingan on before was completely nowhere in sight. Haruhi looked all around her on the spot to see any sign of anything, it was all hopeless until she seen a shadow amongst the fog. "There!" Quickly, she dashed to the shadow, hoping it would be a clue to her whereabouts. She came closer and closer to the shadow, until, the figure can be made out. Haruhi gasped as she stopped in front of her runaway companion. "T-Takai-kun!" Haruhi was shocked to see her companion, who had turned to her with his eyes closed. "Takai-kun! Am I glad to see you! Where've you been? How long were you here, I..." But Takai was not responding to any of her movements or words. "Takai-kun?" She tried shaking him, but he wasn't even fazed by her actions. "Takai-kun, come on, it's me, Haruhi!" And then, Takai opened his eyes immediately and his eyes were blood red with his own Sharingan. And on doing this, he grabbed Haruhi by the neck.

"I know who you are..." Takai growled maliciously. Haruhi gasped and coughed as Takai lifted her up in the air, as she was being choked to death by her comrade.

"T-Takai-kun...what...what are you doing?" Haruhi coughed, as Takai increased his grip on her.

"Killing you, like I should have that day!" Takai said with deep malice. Haruhi coughed, trying to wrench Takai's grip from her neck.

"T-Takai...-kun..." All went black for the young Uzumaki. Whether it be from the strain of Takai's grip knocking her unconscious or her own works, she didn't know. All she knew after that, that she was now in a long winding tunnel, with darkness surrounding her. "Wh-Where am I?" The floor of the was ankle-high in water. Her feet were stripped of her blue shoes, so she walked to where she could familiarize herself with her surroundings. She felt the sides of the walls; damp, metal and the touch of moss made her retract her hand; it was all real. After the eventual splish-splash of her feet became familiar with herself, she came across a metal door. Carefully, she opened and peered through. What was behind the door stunned her. A blood red flame was burning away in a pedestal, with chains wrapping itself around the flame. "What is that?" She trodded to the flame, with the water on the ground becoming less, and suddenly, the flame formed two burning yellow eyes.

"Who dares disturb my sleep?" Haruhi heard a voice call.

"M-Me...Haruhi...Haruhi Uzumaki..." Haruhi croaked in fear of the flame's dark voice. The flame laughed to itself briefly.

"Ahhh...this must be the girl I've been hearing so much about..." It spoke once more.

"Who...or, what are you?" Asked Haruhi.

"I am just the Chakra of an entity beyond your comprehension..." It said. Haruhi's eyes widened.

"Your the Chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox dad spoke of?" Haruhi exclaimed.

"Very good, you're brighter than you look." The flame said. "I was the one who gave you power when you needed it most."

"You didn't give me power!" Haruhi screamed. "You used my body to hurt my friend!"

"Ahh, yes. But if I recall correctly, he hurt you first?" The Chakra spoke.

"I..." Haruhi croaked in sadness at this fact.

"No matter. For now, you face a difficult situation." Immediately, the images of Takai choking her filled her head. Haruhi screamed as she fell to her knees in agony. "You can either let the girl's illusion destroy you..."

"Illusion?" Gasped Haruhi.

"Or use my power, and defeat her!" The Chakra continued. Haruhi stood up.

"Dad said never to rely on your powers." She said.

"Oh, this isn't relying. Call it a lifeline." Haruhi thought for a moment and sighed.

"I have one condition." Haruhi said. "I stay in control."

"Very well." It spoke, and then the chains shattered itself and the Chakra immersed itself in Haruhi. "It would be troublesome if you die, and me along with you..." Haruhi gasped with the power being flown into her, and when all went dark once more, she awoke to see her in the grip of Takai once more. She seen that the red Chakra began to form around her.

"Takai...I know that isn't you...so I won't hold back!" The Chakra coming from Haruhi sky-rocketed, so much that Takai was blown back and the fog that was surrounding her was blown away. She was back in the tower she was fighting Mitsuko in and the spot Takai was, became Mitsuko.

"Impossible!" Mitsuko whispered, staring at the in-control Haruhi. Haruhi looked to her hand, which had the red Chakra surrounding it, and clenched it into a fist, ready to prove to Mitsuko how powerful she really is.


	30. A Battle of Fates! Haruhi Vs Mitsuko!

**A Battle of Fates! Haruhi Vs. Mitsuko!**

Haruhi was standing over Mitsuko, her vision was darkened by the red of the Nine-Tail's Chakra, and her body coursing with it's power.

"S_o, this is the power daddy told me about._.." Haruhi thought, looking at her hand, which was shrouded in the Nine-Tail's Chakra and her fingernails grew into razor sharp claws. "_I have to stay in control...who knows who I might hurt if I lose control_." Mitsuko, who was lying on the ground, recovering from the shock of having her Genjutsu broken, looked up to Haruhi.

"Impossible!" Mitsuko said to herself. "She couldn't have negated my Genjutsu. That one came from my Mangekyo Sharingan, which can't be released by ordinary means...Does that mean...that Chakra?" Mitsuko stood up.

"You recognise it, don't you?" Asked Haruhi. "This Chakra."

"How couldn't I?" Asked Mitsuko, fully regaining herself. "You nearly ripped my arm off with it!"

"I wasn't in control that time." Haruhi replied. "So this time, I'll make sure to finish the job, and rip it off completely!" Haruhi got into a stance and charged for Mitsuko. Using the Sharingan's quick reaction, Mitsuko was able to jump out of the way just in time, to see Haruhi, not only rush past Mitsuko, but colliding into the wall behind her. Haruhi fell to the floor, with the Chakra still blazing, but with said girl nearly unconscious.

"Ughh...what just happened?" She weakly muttered. Mitsuko burst out laughing.

"Ahahaa! Sorry, Haruhi, my arm isn't going anywhere at this rate! Ahaahaha!" Mitsuko laughed. Haruhi regained herself and heard a voice from within.

"**What are you doing?**" The voice yelled angrily. "**You're making a mockery of us**!" Haruhi reacted in fright.

"Nine-Tail's Chakra?" Asked Haruhi in her mind.

"**I'm speaking to you in your mind**." The Chakra spoke darkly. "**Now, get your act together, girl, or I'll take over**."

"You're not taking over, I...I just didn't think your Chakra would have that much of a speed boost." Haruhi said.

"**Now that you have a better idea, will you stop making a fool of yourself and kill her already?**" It asked.

"I'm not gonna kill her..." Haruhi said, and rather than waiting for the Chakra's reply, she charged for Mitsuko and this time, she stopped in front of her and kicked her with much force; she collided with a pillar and fell to the ground. Mitsuko weakly got up from the attack and regained herself.

"That attack..." Mitsuko whispered in agony. "You'll pay for that!"

"Enough, Mitsuko!" Haruhi said. "You're Takai-kun's sister, I don't want to cause Takai-kun any harm."

"Well too bad! You wanted to prove to me how tough you are, you'll have to do that by killing me!" Mitsuko said. "Not that you'll get the chance, once I unleash my trump card!"

"Trump card?" Haruhi said anxiously. Mitsuko formed many hand seals.

"Behold, Haruhi, the true power of Mitsuko Uchiha!" She said triumphantly. "Jinsoka Tsuyosa!" A vast amount of Chakra wrapped itself around Mitsuko and shone deeply until Mitsuko was covered in Chakra-like light.

"What the...?" Haruhi whispered in shock and wonder.

"**Idiot! Keep your guard up!**" The Nine-Tails Chakra warned. Haruhi reacted by going into a stance. "**Light like that can only mean one thing she now possesses: Speed. Don't let her out of your sight, no matter what happens!**" But the Chakra's words were meaningless as Mitsuko vanished for a split second and reappeared before Haruhi, delivering a painful blow to the stomach. Haruhi coughed up a current of blood and the assault continued as Mitsuko gave blow after blow in constant succession until finally, Mitsuko kicked Haruhi away, destroying a pillar in the process.

"What happened to all that power, hm?" Mitsuko mocked. But before her mockery could continue, Haruhi appeared behind Mitsuko with a Rasengan in her hand, which had been amplified by the Nine-Tail's Chakra.

"Rasengan!" Haruhi called. Mitsuko, even with her immense speed could only dodge as far as the shoulder, which hit home, sending Mitsuko across the field.

"Why you little!" Mitsuko growled and dashed for Haruhi, but unlike before, Haruhi quickly dodged and attempted to counter-attack. Mitsuko disappeared briefly and appeared a few yards away, as both fighters stopped to catch their breathe. "Impressive...Many of my opponents beg for mercy after my first attack!"

"Yeah? I'm not most opponent's then..." Haruhi said with a smile, but had to grimmace and clutch her side in pain.

"_Damn, she broke a few of my ribs just now..._" Haruhi thought.

"**D****on't worry...I'll use my Chakra to keep them in place. They'll heal afterwards**." Informed the Nine-Tail's Chakra. "**Be grateful, brat!**"

"You are a worthy foe, Haruhi." Mitsuko said. "But I haven't even begun the fight!" Using the same speed, Mitsuko attacked once more. Haruhi was struck down, but was saved by a Shadow Clone copy. Haruhi attacked again with equal speed, but the attack was quickly blocked. Mitsuko smiled. "Look behind you." Haruhi did so, and seen a duplicate of Mitsuko eject her away with great force. If Haruhi hadn't used her Chakra to shield most of the attack, the damage would have been tremendous. For now, she suffered a swollen cheek. But that wasn't her concern, her main concern was that their were two Mitsuko's.

"T-Two?" Haruhi said in shock. "Are they Shadow Clones?"

"Close, but no cigar." The two said. "You are aware that my Jinsoka Tsuyosa grants me god-like strength and speed. But I can use my speed to create a clone of myself! This is the power of Jinsoka Tsuyosa - Niruijo!"

"You're that fast?" Haruhi said.

"You have no hope fighting two at once!" The two attacked at once Haruhi quickly dodged one and blocked the other's punches.

"Too strong, too fast, too much!" Haruhi whispered. "This Jutsu is unbeatable! But I can't give up now!" She quickly charged with a Rasengan.

"Puh-lease!" Mitsuko said and side-stepped from Haruhi's Rasengan. But by sheer luck, Mitsuko was struck nonetheless on the shoulder, being thrown to the other end of the field and making the Mitsuko clone vanish.

"Huh?" Haruhi gasped. "I thought I missed..." Then it hit her. "Oh, I get it! You were speeding in-between the two clones that in-between the two you were completely vulnerable!" Mitsuko got up, still persistent, even with two Rasengan hits.

"You seem pretty confident!" Mitsuko growled. "Your luck ends here, Haruhi!" Suddenly, her light-Chakra dispersed for a second before going back up.

"_Damn it!" I'm wasting too much Chakra!_" Mitsuko thought. "_Using my best Genjutsu plus my Jinsoka Tsuyosa is taking a toll...if I run out, I'll be expendible to Takai...I need to finish her off now!_"

"I congratulate you, Haruhi!" Mitsuko spoke. "You're my first opponent to witness the final phase of my attacks!"

"Final Phase?" Haruhi said.

"Yes!" Mitsuko said. "My Jinsoka Tsuyosa has three forms of attack, speed and power, Jinsoka Tsuyosa - Niruijo, and the final you'll see right now!" After more hand seals, the light around Mitsuko grew and grew, creating uncontrollable wind pressure.

"Jinsoka Tsuyosa - Hoshako!" The light formed a large claw-like talon and threw itself for Haruhi. Instinctively, she dodged, but not before the light claw blasted a large section of the room apart.

"Whoa!" Haruhi gasped. "If I didn't dodge..."

"You'd be ripped in two!" Mitsuko said, and fired two more claws for her. She dodged the first one successfully, but the second caught her at the side, ripping a small section of her skin.

"Arrghh!" Haruhi screamed. She rolled to the ground and clutched her side which was spewing blood. Despite it being a small section, it hurt so much.

"There's plenty more where that came from!" Mitsuko hurled four more claws that seen Haruhi widen her eyes in shock. Quickly, she called on a vast amount of Clones that blocked the attack. Quickly, she rolled out of the way before the claws could do more damage.

"This isn't working! I need to start attacking, or at this rate, I'm as good as dead!" Haruhi yelled. But Mitsuko had already started the attack, and used the first form to attack Haruhi from behind, the attack alone was enough to wound Haruhi.

"You can't win, Haruhi!" Mitsuko speeched triumphantly. "Your Chakra's strong, but you can't get anywhere near me to prove that strength!" Mitsuko kicked Haruhi up and kicked her again to send her crashing into the ground once more. "Thought I was tough, then you don't stand a chance against what's up ahead!" Haruhi was now in a state of despair as she lay on the ground, mortally weakened.

"I can't win..." Haruhi whispered. "What can I possibly do against such power...?"

"I guess this is all the legendary Haruhi has all to offer!" Mitsuko said. And using the light claws, she grabbed Haruhi by the neck and lifted her off her feet. She desperately struggled. "I told you there was no hope! Now I plan to prove it!" She readied one last light claw to finish the defenseless Haruhi.

"**You really are a helpless brat!**"

Before the last claw could reach, Haruhi's Nine-Tail's Chakra burst out of control, forcing Mitsuko back and both claws to vanish.

"What?" Mitsuko gasped. She seen that Haruhi's Chakra had gotten darker red, almost shrouding her in it, along with this, the Chakra attached itself to all of Haruhi's body parts, and behind the red Chakra, formed a solitary tail. "Impossible!"

"**Get this fight over with, brat!**" The Chakra spoke. "**I'm getting tired. Finish her off in one shot and I won't take over your body!**" Haruhi awoke back into reality.

"Oh, right..." Haruhi prepared a Rasengan, which was amplified to greater heights. "Can I win? No...that's not me...the real me would say...I have to win!" She charged for Mitsuko.

"You're starting to get on my nerves!" Mitsuko screamed, firing countless claws for Haruhi. She dodged them all with ease. Mitsuko growled and formed a claw in her own hand. "Father, I dedicate this attack to you..." She quickly charged. "Haruhi!"

"Mitsuko!" They both collided their Jutsu, which caused mass shockwaves throughout the field. This caused the roof to collapse, but with both their unnatural Chakra shielded them from the destruction. The walls were ripped apart from it's sheer force and soon, both Jutsus had succumbed to their owner's fatigue and ended. Both opponents stood shaking with their last attack. Haruhi had recieved major wounds to the chest, but Mitsuko was clutching her arm in agony, clearly broken. Both their Chakra shrouds were dispersed.

"Haruhi..." Mitsuko whispered with malice. Before Mitsuko could deliver the final blow, Haruhi took the opportunity first and gave Mitsuko a painful uppercut. Mitsuko fell to the floor in agony.

"You want to know the real reason why I fought you...?" Haruhi asked weakly, getting on her knees to overlook Mitsuko. "It's because I wanted revenge...!"

"R-Revenge...?" Mitsuko weakly muttered.

"That night...I could never accept that Takai-kun had been following someone else besides me or my teammates...My friends were disappearing all around my eyes...You were the cause of that...I...I wanted to make you pay for what you've done to me...But now...I can't bring myself to kill you..."

"Why not?" Mitsuko gasped.

"Takai-kun...would never forgive me...for killing his flesh and blood..." Haruhi said. Mitsuko smiled. "But I will ask...What is going on here? What's with all of the Uchiha?" Mitsuko continued her smile.

"You'll have...to ask Takai..." Mitsuko fell unconscious. Haruhi smiled.

"Did you see it, daddy?" Haruhi said, before falling unconscious herself.

"_I won..._"


	31. Reunion

**Reunion**

Konohamaru, Hanabi and Maruya decided to use the destroyed, thorn-covered battle-arena they fought in to heal their wounds. They also gave the order for the others to do the same, making sure their guards were fully up. All the while, Konohamaru was constantly trying to connect to Haruhi, who still hasn't replied to his progress report.

"It's no good..." Konohamaru said. "She's not answering..."

"Busy with an opponent?" Asked Maruya.

"Or dead..." Hanabi said bluntly. Konohamaru stood up, despite his wounds.

"I'll need to look for her." He said, tightening a bandage on his left arm. "Not only is she a vital part to this operation, but she's also my responsibility." Before he could reach a destroyed hole in the wall, hoping to use it as a shortcut to other towers, a mass amount of Chakra shook the very ground they stood on.

"What the?" Maruya gasped, trying to keep herself from falling over. Just then, Konohamaru witnessed an explosion on a tower on the other end of the castle, that caused the entire roof to collapse.

"Haruhi!" Konohamaru yelled, quickly using the towers as stepping stones to reach the tower. But on approaching, he had to wait for the dust to settle. Once the dust had settled enough, he jumped from the adjacent tower to the location of Haruhi's fight. "Haruhi?" He looked around, shifting debris from the area in an effort to find her. "Haruhi! Are you here?" She was nowhere to be seen, nor was her opponent. "Did they...fall?" Konohamaru looked all around the tower's long drop down; nothing but more debris. Swiftly, Hanabi and Maruya arrived to aid Konohamaru.

"Is she here?" Asked Hanabi.

"No..." Konohamaru said. "I can sense her Chakra...as well as an incredibly strong opposing Chakra...but neither of the owners are here..."

"Where are you, Haruhi?" Asked Maruya worriedly. Konohamaru pressed his microphone.

"Everyone, this is Konohamaru speaking." He said. "I need everyone who has energy to spare to conduct a search on the whereabouts for Haruhi!" A few seconds later, someone responded.

"What happened to Haruhi?" Yelled a worried Shikari.

"Is Haruhi-chan okay?" Asked a rather weakened Hitsuin.

"Her tower exploded, I conducted a search in it, and can't find her." Konohamaru reported. "Hurry! It could be possible she's in enemy hands."

"Roger!" Many voices were heard from the microphone. Konohamaru then noticed something on the ground: blood.

"Haruhi, please be alright..." Konohamaru whispered in worry.

Half an hour later, however, Haruhi had just awoken from her unconsciousness. Her vision was coming to, as she sat up.

"Nghhh..." Haruhi moaned, in slight agony from her fight. "Where am I?" She looked around; she seemed to be in a small basement unknown to her. It took an extra few seconds to realise her t-shirt was missing, and in it's place was a large amount of bandages covering her would-be naked torso. "Someone's been taking off my clothes?" She was about to stand up, but the pain from her side seared.

"Don't move!" A voice from the shadows calmly shouted. "Your still weakened. I took the liberty of healing your wounds...your opponent was vicious..." Haruhi was alarmed by the voice that was there the whole time.

"Who... who are you?" Asked Haruhi in alarm. "And why did you take care of me?" The person in the shadows took a step forward. So far, unrecognisable. His torso edged forwards: he wore a black robe that seemed familiar, but it bore a fan-like crest, similar to the crests she was seeing throughout the castle. And finally, his head emerged from the darkness...Haruhi's eyes widened in shock. The person who had healed her, took her somewhere safe; the instigator in the whole mission: Takai Uchiha...

"Recognise me now?" Takai asked.

"T-Takai...kun..." Haruhi whispered in surprise. "You healed me?"

"It wasn't easy...you suffered many broken ribs and had many bruises." Takai replied. "If any of those ribs pierced a vital organ, you would have been beyond my care..." Haruhi was still in shock.

"Is that...really you?" Haruhi asked, still surprised. Takai took a few steps forward.

"It's me, Haruhi..." Takai said. "Takai Ka...Uchiha...Your teammate..." Many things Haruhi wanted to do to Takai in that moment. However, one such fact crossed her mind that made her act on instinct.

"YOU IDIOT!" She screamed and punched Takai so hard he collided with the wall. Takai didn't see the attack coming, even with his mind-reading powers. He got up, a little surprised himself.

"Wh-What was that for, Haruhi?" Takai yelled in disbelief. "I healed you and you go around punching me?" Haruhi covered her chest.

"You peeked at me naked, didn't you?" Haruhi wailed in violation.

"Haruhi, grow up!" Takai yelled back. "It was either that, or let you bleed to death!"

"I don't care! You never look at a girl naked, no matter what the emergency!"

"I wasn't paying attention to your tiny boobs!" Takai argued. Haruhi's face dropped at this comment.

"How dare you!" Haruhi screamed. "At least I don't go around peeking at people's private areas!" Both gave a large growl to each other before looking away in disgust toward one another.

"It was the only way to make you better, alright?" Takai said. "If I'd have known you'd have this kind of reaction, I would have healed my sister first, then let her heal you." Haruhi turned to Takai.

"Your sister is here?" Haruhi said, still in a mood.

"Sleeping..." Takai said. "In another room. She suffered a few injuries too."

"Please tell me you didn't look at her too?" Haruhi asked menacingly.

"No, her injuries were focussed at her back. It's really hard to treat one of your Rasengan attacks." Both sat in silence.

"Takai..." Haruhi started. "You nearly killed me...yet you treated me just now...Are you a Leaf enemy...or a Leaf ally?" Takai paused.

"I'm neither..." Takai responded solemnly. "I'm just someone trying to carry out a duty..."

"Duty?" Asked Haruhi.

"I'll explain later..." Takai said.

"But tell me why you wanted to kill me!" Haruhi said, now discarding her previous rage. "You said you wanted to use me as a distraction so you and Mitsuko could escape, but I don't buy that for a second!" Takai gave a sigh.

"I thought I was the one who can see through minds..." Takai laughed gently, then looked to Haruhi. "I wanted our friendship to end that day."

"What?" Haruhi whispered.

"Don't get me wrong, it wasn't personal...My business here is very dangerous." Takai explained. "If I were to make it look as if I betrayed you, as if I were ready to smite you down that day, then our friendship would have ended..."

"Why?" Haruhi asked, crawling over closer to Takai.

"I didn't want you getting involved like you always do..." Takai replied. "But I failed..." Takai now looked Haruhi dead in the eye. "Listen Haruhi, as soon as your better, you and your companions need to get out, now! Stronger enemies await if you continue! I can't guarantee your survival should you stay! Now I'm telling you to-!" At that point, Haruhi hugged Takai gently.

"You're such an idiot..." Haruhi gently whispered, now letting loose some tears. "Hasn't being around me taught you anything?" They separated, now with Haruhi looking at Takai with determination. "We are comrades! And no matter what, we can't abandon one another!" Takai looked to Haruhi's tear-filled eyes and closed his own.

"Haruhi...We're going to enter really difficult battles in the near future...I just want to let you know...that I'm sorry for what I did to you that day..." Haruhi smiled and gave an encouraging nod.

At the same time, the Leaf Team had scoured the castle at least three times now, and Haruhi's whereabouts were still unknown.

"Anything, team?" Asked Konohamaru through the mic.

"Nothing." Replied Tatsuno.

"Not a nibble." Shikari replied.

"It's as if she's vanished from thin air." Kitsuin reported. Konohamaru punched a nearby wall in anger.

"We need to assume she's been taken hostage by the lord of this castle." Konohamaru spoke through the mic. But then, a miracle happened.

"Who's been taken hostage?" Asked Haruhi through Konohamaru's earpiece. This had everyone react positively.

"You're alive?" Maruya screamed in the mic in delight.

"Where were you?" Shikari asked in disbelief.

"Alright, calm down." Haruhi replied. "I have some news. I've just found Takai." The entire Leaf Team was shocked by this. "He wants to meet everyone so he can explain himself. Go to the bottom of one of your towers and there should be a door. Go down it and once you get to a corridor, we're at the fourth door on your right."

It took a while for everyone to get to the basement room occupied by Haruhi and Takai, seeing as half were injured or at the top of tall towers. Once everyone was present, gave their greetings to Haruhi, gave their rotten looks to Takai, the ten sat down on the floor, crowded round one another to hear Takai out. Before Takai could start though, the door opposite swung open to reveal Mitsuko, who was still badly injured.

"Mitsuko." Takai said.

"Who's she?" Asked Shikari.

"Takai's sister." Haruhi replied.

"Least we won't need to search for her." Konohamaru replied. Mitsuko sat with them.

"Let's just be clear, this is only a truce between your party and ours." Mitsuko said. "We both share one common enemy, and when we complete our task, we'll go our own ways. Clear?" Haruhi was disheartened at this.

"Mitsuko." Takai said. "Perhaps we should start upon what this is all about?" Mitsuko looked to his brother sincerely.

"Sorry, Takai." She said and stepped down.

"So, Takai Uchiha." Hanabi started. "Tell us everything. Tell us all that we need to hear. We need to know everything."

"As you wish..." Takai said. "The enemy we face is that of the Uchiha...However..."

"These lot are dirty rotten copycats!" Mitsuko interrupted.

"Yes. They were never born with Uchiha powers, nor the Sharingan. Me and Mitsuko were born with it, making us natural Uchiha. They were...given it..."

"Given?" Asked Ayane.

"Yes..." Takai said. "It was all part of my mother's research..."

"Your mother?" Haruhi asked.

"She was a medical ninja as well as a tracker ninja with very rare Chakra...her name was Karin." Takai explained. "In order to go further, I will tell you the tale of the events that took place that lead to me and Mitsuko's birth..."


	32. The Secrets and Past of Takai Uchiha

**The Secrets and Past of Takai Uchiha**

"The events that led to your birth?" Pondered Haruhi. All nine of her team were sitting in the basement of the Castle Mashin with Takai and Mitsuko, as the former was ready to explain everything.

"Before you start..." Konohamaru interrupted. "Do remember, we have a member of the ANBU Black Ops present." Maruya gave a small wave. "She'll tell instantly if there's any lies in your story, so be truthful, for your sake." Takai scoffed.

"Are you calling my brother a liar, you Leaf idiot?" Mitsuko barked, getting right up to Konohamaru's face, to make him recoil in fright.

"Mitsuko, that's plenty." Takai said, waving his arm down for Mitsuko to calm down. "I can see why you're suspicious, Sensei, and I understand it. But don't worry, I intend to be honest to make up for what I did to Haruhi." The girl in question looked away at his friend's gaze. "Now, let's begin."

_'My story began eighteen years ago. My mother, Karin, had escaped capture from the Hidden Leaf Village, upon hearing news of the death of the so-called last Uchiha, by the name of Sasuke.'_

The events of that night played like a memory to Takai, having read her mother's mind, or in this case memories, he knows everything there was to know about the events. The walls of the Hidden Leaf Village were breached by a small hole at the bottom, in which Takai's mother, Karin, made her way through it, and escaped to the forests, never to be troubled by the Hidden Leaf Village again.

_'My mother searched a full year for his body, and finally, she got him. She set up camp in a small cave in a lower country, to avoid unfriendly eyes, to research Jutsu to bring him to life. My mother always used to say: 'even though he betrayed me, I never had the heart to let him die'...whatever that meant.'_

More memories of Takai flushed in, as Karin had the deceased body of Sasuke on a table, as she tried numerous Jutsu to bring him to life. Days turned to weeks as Karin tried to do many Jutsu to revive him, but all attempts failed.

_'But the more time she spent trying to revive him, his body began to naturally decay. The way things were going, she was wasting time on a lost cause. Eventually, her research did come across a particular Jutsu which can create life, but not in the form of resurrection.'_

Karin skimmed and scanned a particular giant scroll for dear life in the hopes she may find something among it, as this was her last hope in reviving Sasuke. The scroll she was reading was very heavily guarded, and stealing it in the hopes it may have something was a huge gamble. The scroll itself had hundreds of Forbidden Jutsu that in the wrong hands could spell another Akatsuki.

"Come on!" Karin spoke to herself. "There's gotta be something here! After sneaking in there, I'll be executed if I'm discovered with this! I hope it's worth it!" Briefly, she lay back to catch her breathe, but looked over to Sasuke who was on the primary stages of decomposition. "I have to find something in this scroll, or I'll have no choice but to bury him, or else I'll catch nasty diseases...not to mention he'll stink up this cave." She went back to reading and froze on a particular paragraph. "Th-This Jutsu..."

_'Bringing Sasuke back to full life was impossible for most ninja. But my mother stumbled upon a Forbidden Jutsu which was the next big thing: impregnate herself with the cells of Sasuke to give birth to a child. One of my father's wishes in life was to recreate the Uchiha clan, so my mother took up the mantle to carry on his wish. So the Jutsu was a success and she carried the heir to the Uchiha clan. But there was one thing she did not anticipate: after her nine months of pregnancy...'_

Karin, after several hours of torturous labour in a nearby town's hospital, she was finally presented with her offspring.

"Congratulations." Announced the kind-faced nurse. "You've given birth to twins. Boy and girl." Karin swelled up with tears of joy, relieving the nurse of the two newborn children and held them both close with each arm, sobbing in joy. "Have you decided on the names?"

"Y-Yeah...The boy's name will be Takai...and the girl...Mitsuko..."

Out of the flashback, Haruhi coo'd in joy at such a memorable flashback from such a tough-edged ally.

"Hold on." Tatsuno interrupted. Everyone turned their attention from Takai to the interrupter. "What does this have anything to do with the enemy we face now?" Mitsuko got up close to him.

"It's important, because if you don't listen, I'll knock you out, Leaf jerk!" She growled.

"She's got quite the temper." Maruya mumbled to herself.

"I'd say it's quite important." Konohamaru said. "I'm sure the future Hokage would want to know how you managed to come around, while he thought the Uchiha were all but extinct."

"In any case, Tatsuno has a point." Ayane said. "How does your mother's secret Jutsu to bring you to this world have anything to do with the enemies that have the same power as you do?"

"I'm getting to that part." Takai said. "Is there anything else before I go on?"

"One from me." Konohamaru said, raising a hand. "Where is your mother now?" Takai looked down.

"I'm getting to that part too..." Takai informed, now ready to continue.

_'For the next few years, my mother, my sister and I travelled all across wherever we pleased. When we were old enough to hold a kunai without scraping ourselves, mother would have us train to use Jutsu to defend ourselves.'_

Karin, slightly older than before, was perched on a small log, watching over her two children as both Takai and Mitsuko were practicing a Fireball Jutsu. The two were now infants, around five, and had several burns to the face, after trying to master the Fireball Jutsu so many times.

"Fire-Style - Fireball Jutsu!" They both commanded, doing the proper hand signs and spewed nothing but a small breathe of fire.

"Keep trying." Karin encouraged.

"C'mon, mom!" Mitsuko whined. "How do we do this Jutsu properly." Karin stood up from the log, walked over to Mitsuko and began treating the burns on her face.

"Just keep trying, honey." She said. "Your father's strength runs through you, I can feel it." Mitsuko smiled deeply, as did Takai. With new found spirit, they went back to pracicing.

_'If we weren't training for the day, we would help in mother's research, as she attempted to create many new Jutsu. Even if it was just a simple healing Jutsu, we helped out as best we could.'_

Karin was in a cave, using a small table, summoned by a sealing scroll, to conduct some healing Jutsu. Takai and Mitsuko came rushing in.

"We found a dead bird!" Takai declared, presenting a small swallow that was clearly dead. Karin faced them with a smile.

"Very good, I'll get to work on it." Karin said, taking the swallow and putting it on the table.

"How can you bring dead things back to life, mom?" Asked Mitsuko.

"Well, it's a little hard, honey." Karin said, trying a Jutsu on the little bird. "I've recently discovered blood from a strong person helps to revive those who are either on the verge of death or recently deceased...If only I discovered that when your father died. Though I haven't tried it on human lives, I'm yet to find a strong person to try out this theory."

"Blood from a strong person?" Takai asked. "Hey, you can use mine if you want." Karin gave a laugh.

"No, no, honey." Karin replied. "I don't wanna hurt you. Besides, I don't know if you're strong." She lifted Takai's arms and squeezed it, showing no muscle at all.

"Can we try, then?" Takai asked, and took a kunai from his pocket. Karin gave a sigh.

"Okay, but if it doesn't work, don't try it again." She took a small vial, as Takai scratched his finger; he withheld all urges to wail in pain. Some of the blood poured into the vial, and Karin went straight to work with it. Takai grimaced in pain from the scratch. About five minutes later, a very bright Chakra glow emitted from the deceased bird. "I-Impossible..." The glow faded after a few seconds, and the swallow that was thought to be dead, jumped up and flew out of the cave, giving a small chirp in thanks to it's saviour.

"Yay! I'm strong!" Takai cheered. Karin laughed in delight.

"You really are amazing, Takai..."

_'This was a key moment in my mother's research. Strong blood, and someone who can use the Jutsu, can revive someone on the verge of death, or just recently died. I thought it was pretty amazing, seeing as how I was the vessel for the strong blood. Until one day, around the time of my eighth birthday, when me and my family were training in a lightly dense forest, it happened...'_

A large explosion blew the Uchiha family away, each collided across the grass and Mitsuko collided onto a tree.

"No!" Karin wailed, after recovering herself, and tended to a weakened Mitsuko. "Are you okay, honey?" She weakly nodded, drawing a small tear from the pain. "Takai?" The boy that was called for was not as hurt as his sister, but was peering past a bush.

"Mom! Mitsuko! C'mere, quick!" He called quietly. Both girls crept up to the bush and pushed it's leaves aside to see many ninja clashing with each other, ninjas on both sides were using advanced Elemental Jutsu to fight one another. "Amazing!"

"These guys are really tough!" Mitsuko gasped in wonder.

"We should leave." Karin urged. "If we're caught, then we'll be captured by the winner." Suddenly, more fighters joined the fray, each possessing headbands of the Leaf Village, and among them was a younger-looking Naruto. Karin gasped. "It's him!"

"Who's he?" Takai asked innocently.

"He's the man who defeated your father..." Karin explained to the children. "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Isn't he bad then?" Asked Mitsuko.

"No, quite the opposite honey. It's because he defeated your father that makes him a good man." Naruto stood forward before more fighting could continue. A man from the winning team of ninja also stepped forward: A small, yet evil-looking ninja that had no headband, and presumably no village, yet he had many scars across his shirtless body.

"Why are you attacking this squad of ninja?" Naruto asked with a raised voice. The ninja smirked.

"They have a particular person we're dying to have back." He said, as if trying to be above Naruto.

"Leave now, and I promise you'll live. We can all go back to our families in one piece." Naruto bargained. One of Naruto's male teammates approached him. He had red fang marks across his cheeks, had brown hair and had the eyes resembling a canine.

"Hey, is that a good idea?" He asked. "Tsunade-sama requested we kill him to avoid trouble."

"It's okay, Kiba." Naruto said. "I don't want bloodshed here, and I don't want those closest to him exacting revenge on me. But should it come to it, I'll have no choice." The ninja laughed insanely.

"Don't make me laugh!" He drew a Kunai ready to strike Naruto down, but almost like a bolt of lightning, Naruto made the first move, by striking the attacker down with a Rasengan. He was blasted on to a tree and died from the injury, and his teammates backed away in fear.

"Leave now!" Commanded Naruto. "I don't want more blood on my hands." At those words, the men quickly fled with their tails behind their legs.

"Thank you..." Said one of the ninja that were injured in the attack. "The main reason we were attacked by them was to escort a rogue ninja allied with them back to our Village. But during their attack, he got away..."

"That's alright." Naruto said calmly. "Consider yourself lucky you got out with only minor injuries. If any of your men need medical assistance, my best medical ninja will be happy to oblige." Sakura, who was also in the team of Leaf ninja stepped forward.

"It's as the rumours say, Naruto-sama." The injured ninja replied. "Your grace is far greater than your powers." Sakura went to healing the injured, while Takai and Mitsuko finally called it quits and left Haruhi's parents to their work.

"Well that wasn't so bad." Haruhi interrupted. "I was expecting some sort of life-long scarring at the hands of them jerks daddy had to beat up."

"It wasn't that occasion which changed everything, Haruhi." Takai assured. "That's coming next."

_'We decided it was safe to pack our things and leave to a more secluded area for the time being. If ninja like that were on the move here, it would comprimise our seclusion. It was just when we arrived at the cave where we were camping when..."_

Just before Takai, Mitsuko and Karin could enter and begin their evacuation, a figure approached them. Karin took out a Kunai.

"Who's there?" She ordered. A man, who looked very weakened approached. He had multiple injuries, very deep burns and had difficulty standing. The man himself had short blonde hair and had a green jacket which was stained with his blood.

"Please...you have to help me..." He coughed.

"Mom..." Mitsuko wailed in fright. "He's scaring me..."

"Please leave." Said Karin. "I understand you're badly hurt, but I cannot help you."

"But mom, you said you were the best med-" Takai naively spoke, only to be glared at by his mother through her spectacles.

"Please..." He begged. And then, he collapsed on the ground.

"We should help him!" Cried Mitsuko.

"Why?" Karin asked. "If ninja are roaming around here, by the time I'm done healing him, they'll have found us and captured us." She was about to go inside, but Takai blocked her path.

"Heal him, mom!" Takai demanded. Karin, unable to raise her voice at her beloved child, looked to the man and sighed.

"Okay, but the minute I find he's no longer needing assistance, we're gone." Karin said, with irritation.

_'That was my biggest mistake. If I had listened to mother, and left that man to die, I am almost certain we wouldn't be here.'_

Karin had packed her things, while Takai was begging for his mother to reconsider. The man was beyond her aid, and was now dying.

"Please, mother!" He yelled. "He's dying!"

"I did as you asked and checked on him." Karin said stubbornly. "He's got multiple organ injuries and the burns will take too long to heal. If we don't hurry, we'll be caught."

"Then do that strong blood Jutsu!" Takai ordered. "If it saves him, I'll give all my blood if I have to!" For someone so young, he sounded almost determined. Karin gasped in thought: it could be a grand opportunity to test the Jutsu on a dying human.

"Alright, but we have to be quick!" She took a kunai and quickly scratched Takai's hand. He gave a small yelp and began weeping in pain.

"I wasn't ready!" He wailed.

"Pipe down!" She barked as she went to work on reviving him. Using Takai's blood on the Kunai and her Jutsu, the man glowed the same light as the swallow. Suddenly...

"Freeze!" Yelled a voice in the caves. The Uchihas looked to see the same ninja Naruto healed previously. They had the entrance to the cave surrounded.

"Oh, no!" Karin cursed to herself.

"You've got our rogue ninja!" Said the leader ninja. "And by the looks of it, you're healing him! Hand him over, and we'll leave quietly." Takai got out in front.

"No way!" Takai yelled. "What's he ever done to you?"

"Pesky brat." One of the other ninja growled, ready to attack.

"Wait." Said the leader, stopping the attacking ninja. "We should follow Naruto-sama's example." He turned to Karin. "The ninja in your possession is charged with high felony and will be brought to justice by our village. Should you attempt to aid his escape, you'll be wanted for assisting his escape."

"Still..." Takai protested.

"Have it your way!" The hostile attacker yelled and charged for Takai.

"Wait!" The leader yelled. Takai flinched, closing his eyes for any pain to be over and done with. But before that could happen, the rogue ninja that was healed, jumped in front of the attacker and blocked his attack. "He's alive?" The attacking ninja looked to the criminal, to see a smirk growing on his face as his hair suddenly turned black and his eyes grew blood red, and with a great surge in Chakra, his pursuers were all wiped out.

"Wh-What just happened?" Karin gasped. The rogue ninja looked to Takai, as the child was now frozen in fear.

"Thanks for that kid." He said, almost gently, calming Takai down. "What's your name, kid?"

"Takai...Takai Uchiha. And yours?"

"You can call me Yamishin."

Back at the cave, most of the Leaf team had gasped.

"That's the name my opponent said when I defeated him!" Maruya cried in shock.

"Yeah, that creep in Ayane's tower mentioned a Yamishin."

"You said his hair changed black and his eyes turned red." Hanabi probed. "Does that mean...?"

"Yes." Takai went on. "The Jutsu my mom perfected had one extra side-effect: the person being healed inherits the traits of the owner of the blood, Chakra levels, even Kekkei Genkai."

"Then that means-!" Haruhi gasped.

"Indeed. The enemies you fight here, were once dead."


	33. It All Fits Together

**It All Fits Together**

There was silence. Not once did they contemplate that they would have to fight ninja from beyond the grave.

"It's the Fourth Ninja War all over again." Maruya laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"Then what, Takai?" Asked Konohamaru. "I imagine you and this Yamishin guy must have parted ways after that."

"No, the opposite, actually." Takai explained. "He was eternally grateful for our actions to heal him, so he vowed, right there on the spot, to forever stick by us until the moment he saves our lives from death."

"Hmph! Of course, it was just a facade!" Mitsuko huffed. "He was never grateful for us about anything. And the only reason he stuck with us was to learn our mother's secret Jutsu!"

"I was getting to that, sister." Takai said. "Now as I was saying..."

_'The four of us continued our travels, learning many things across the land, while Yamishin added to our training.'_

Both Takai and Mitsuko were sparring with Yamishin in a Taijutsu face-off in the middle of a light forest, but, thanks to Yamishin's new Sharingan, he dodged every blow the twins had to offer, and punched both away.

"Come on!" Yelled Yamishin calmly. "You don't expect to fend off attackers with attacks as weak as that!" Mitsuko couldn't get up, extremely tired from 4 hours of training. Takai, however, still had enough energy and went back to it.

_'If there was one thing Yamishin taught us above all else, it was to never trust anyone.'_

"Never trust anyone?" Asked a still young Takai, alongside Mitsuko. both sat in a small cave with a campfire heating them up from the cold night outside, while Yamishin sat before them, with Karin doing more research on her own.

"Yes." Yamishin lectured. "If you're extracting information from an enemy, always assume their words are false. If you fight alongside an ally you are not familiar with, always assume they're ready to double-cross you. Even a civilian who begs for help isn't to be fully trusted."

"But we can always trust each other, right?" Asked Mitsuko.

"Well, we can." Yamishin went on. "After all, I wouldn't think of betraying you guys." And he gave them both a ruffle to the hair.

"Yamishin!" Called Karin. "Give me a hand here."

"Yes ma'am." Laughed Yamishin.

_'It wouldn't be surprising that I was beginning to warm to Yamishin, even think of him as a father I never had. Then, one night, when Yamishin was out gathering supplies, while a battle was occuring between two rival nations...'_

Takai, Mitsuko and Karin were taking shelter in an old abandoned farmhouse, looking in the distance, where explosions and various destruction sounds were taking place.

"I hope Yamishin's okay..." Sighed Takai.

"He's tough." Karin assured. "I just hope he brings something edible." Then in the distance of one of the fields, there came a figure.

"That's him!" Cheered Mitsuko. But the more and more the figure came to view, the more worried all of them got: Yamishin had indeed returned, but with a small girl, around three, with blonde hair and blood stained clothing.

"What in the-?" Karin gasped.

"Quickly, Karin!" Yelled Yamishin as he finally arrived in the barnhouse.

"What in the world were you doing? Gathering supplies or gathering the dead?" Karin yelled.

"I couldn't help it!" Yamishin yelled, placing the girl on a bale of hay. "The village I was in when I was gathering supplies was attacked. A mother died, but made me swear I'd look after her child. But when I was getting out, I got caught in an explosion and the girl died. Karin, we need to use that Jutsu!"

"Why?" Karin growled. "Because you thought making a promise to some mother was a brilliant idea?"

"Please mom!" Takai begged.

"Think if it were you, Karin, and you were the one begging to save your children..." Yamishin begged. Karin looked to the dead child and sighed.

"Fine, but if you so much as beg me to do it again, I'll dissect them Sharingan eyes and make you eat them!" Karin growled, then went to the girl. "Give me your blood, Yamishin." The young man used an open wound on his arm to pour blood into a small container. Then, using the blood, Karin used her Jutsu to envelope the young girl. The twins were amazed by the sight, and Karin was completely focussed on the girl that none of them noticed the wide grin on Yamishin's face. Before long, the Jutsu ended, and the little girl began to awake, with jet black hair tainting her blonde. "What is your name, child?"

"U...Ubu..." The girl squeaked.

"There's nothing to fear now..." Yamishin gently soothed to Ubu. "You are in safe hands..."

_'I should have foreseen Yamishin's plot. He merely used the death of Ubu to analyze the reviving Jutsu with his Sharingan and use it for himself. Mitsuko and I became quick friends with Ubu, but more and more, Yamishin would disappear without a moment's notice, being gone for days at a time. When we ask where he'd gone, he'd say he has some things to do. Then, it happened just after me and Mitsuko turned seven...'_

Yamishin walked through a dense forest, having completed another one of his errands with a large smile to his face, and was heading back to his small 'family'. However, someone was blocking his path that made him hide his smile; that someone was Karin.

"Karin!" Yamishin smiled. "How unexpected, I didn't think you'd be waiting here for me. How's-" But as he tried to walk past, Karin blocked his path.

"No more lies, Yamishin!" Karin barked. "Where are you going?"

"I can't exactly say..." Yamishin replied. "But I'm sure Takai, Mitsuko and Ubu will be pleased to see me." But then, Karin gave him a kick to the chest that blew him away. "K-Karin! What are you doing?"

"If you were here earlier, you would have known Ubu vanished the same time you did too! If you won't tell me where you're going, or what happened to Ubu, I'll force the information out!" Karin yelled. Yamashin then smiled again.

"Oh well, if that's the way you want to play it. Your role here is no longer needed anyway."

_'Of course, mother never stood a chance. In terms of combat skill, Yamishin completely dominated her. With her dying breathe, mother had only this to say:'_

"The Uchiha name...will never be yours...!" Karin coughed, as a bloodied up Karin lay motionless as she passed away.

_'We caught every sight of it, we watched our mother die by Yamishin's hands in a bush and could do nothing but watch. Until finally, I found the courage to face him.'_

Takai leapt from the bushes and faced Yamishin, much to the latter's surprise.

"Takai. Good to see you!" Yamishin smiled. But Takai was searing with rage.

"You monster!" Takai yelled, and despite his small size and young age, Takai charged, but Yamishin punched the young Uchiha away, forcing him to land next to his deceased mother. Yamishin gave a thunderous laugh. "What's wrong, don't tell me that's all you've got?"

"Why did you kill mother?" Groaned Takai in pain. "I thought you said we could trust you."

"Wrong. I told you not to trust anyone, not even me!" Then, Yamishin let his Chakra surge uncontrollably, so Takai was literally shaking in fear. "It would be so much simpler to just kill you and your brat of a sister." The end statement made Mitsuko yelp in fear from behind the bush in which she hid. "But I'm a man of challenge; it'd be boring to kill a kid with so much potential in him. So I'll let you escape this one time. When next we meet, we'll fight to the death, and I won't be so forgiving." Then, Yamishin turned his back and headed off. But before he could get far, Takai got up once more, despite his injury, and charged again for Yamishin.

"You're not getting away!" He yelled. And at that point, his Sharingan activated for the first time. But, something made him slow his charge.

_'My mind-reading powers activated with the Sharingan, and in that small window of space and time, I caught a glimpse two things.'_

"U-Ubu..." Takai whispered in shock.

_'The little girl that was revived by mother, Ubu, has incredible Chakra levels even for an infant. Mother mentioned her disappearance, and my mind-reading powers allowed me to see that Yamishin took her for himself to raise her to be a killing machine. Also, and this was probably the most horrifying vision I have ever witnessed, even making mother's death look normal. Before I knew it, however...'_

"You've got quite the ability there." Yamishin smiled, then knocked Takai out with a blow to the head. "I look forward to our battle." And then, Yamishin departed, leaving only Mitsuko to care for both the injured Takai and the dead Karin.

_'What seemed like a second after I was knocked unconscious, I woke immediately afterwards to see that Yamishin had gone.'_

Takai woke inside a small hut, with various carpenter tools hanging from the walls.

"How are you feeling, brother?" Asked Mitsuko, who was sitting right next to him.

"My head hurts..." He said, rubbing his head gently.

"Least you're still alive..." Mitsuko said sadly. But Takai didn't have to ask what was bothering her, for his new found powers enabled him to know that Karin's death was still eating away at her.

"Where's mother?" Asked Takai. Soon after, Mitsuko took Takai to a pretty isolated part of the woods where the hut stood, and came to a small patch of lifted ground, and a tombstone with the words 'Here lies Karin. Mother of Takai and Mitsuko' etched on it.

"It took me a while to dig a hole for mom. But I did it in the end..." Mitsuko said, trying to sound strong. Then Takai kneeled to the little grave, and couldn't help the tears from flowing.

"I promise mom...I'll stop Yamishin...I'll make you proud one day..."

Back at the present, Haruhi was drying up her tears of sadness at the ending of such a sad story.

"So there you have it. Yamishin betrayed us, took my mother's secret Jutsu to build these artificial Uchihas and we're going to stop him." Takai finished.

"Any questions?" Mumbled Mitsuko, trying to hide her sorrow, from being reminded of the story.

"Where did Yamishin go when he was still incognito to you?" Hanabi asked. "If you ever found out."

"Part of Ubu's vision back then allowed me to see also that he was experimenting with his use on the secret Jutsu. Since he had both strong blood and strong Chakra, he could do it without any of us around. He mainly did it to small regiments of ninja passing by. He couldn't get it right for the first few weeks, but when he perfected it, that's when he decided to take out the trash, mainly us."

"And what happened to you?" Asked Tatsuno. "After the vow you made to your mother?"

"We decided to split up. Mitsuko was to travel the lands to train and to hopefully find any information regarding Yamishin, while I went to train and find information in the most participating village in the land."

Back to the flashback, both Takai and Mitsuko came to the gates of the Leaf Village. Takai looked to his sister and hugged her tight.

"Stay in touch, okay?" He said to her. Mitsuko was crying at having lost all four of her loved ones. "Hey, it's not goodbye. We'll be back together before you know it, okay?" Mitsuko weakly nodded and both parted ways.

"And when you went to see Mitsuko that night? You..." Haruhi asked, back to the present day.

"Yes, I used my powers to pick up on her location. Her being in the area could only mean one thing. She's obtained vital information that was too risky to send by written messages."

"Well, I'd say that's us on exactly the same page." Konohamaru said.

"That's about it, yes." Takai responded.

"Not yet, we're not." Hanabi halted. "You mentioned a horrible vision? One straight after the vision about Ubu?"

"Oh yes. I nearly forgot." Takai said, then stood up. "Rather than tell you, it's best to show you. I can not only recieve thoughts of others, I can transmit my thoughts to others too." He formed a few hand seals and activated his Sharingan. And then, Haruhi was blinded by a white light. When she could see again, all around her was a barren wasteland, with the sky obscured by dark clouds and fire raged all around her.

"Wh-where am I? Takai!" Screamed Haruhi in fright. Then, upon a small ridge of destroyed earth, came a cloaked man, that had glowing red eyes. Haruhi could only imagine it was Yamishin.

"Welcome...to my world!" And then, Haruhi came to, back in the small basement, with everyone having the same reaction as her: scared out of their minds, if not, seriously fazed by such a vision.

"That was just a tiny portion of the vision." Takai said. "This is Yamishin's vision for the future, and I imagine the real thing is probably a hundred times worse. If left unchecked, Yamishin may very well begin a ninja war the world has never seen." Shikari, out of the blue, smacked his fist to the ground.

"We gotta stop this mad man!" He said with a raised voice.

"Couldn't be said better!" Kitsuin growled too.

"Alright, this problem has just escalated from a rescue mission to a mission that will prevent all-out war!" Konohamaru announced. "Part of our mission was to assist Takai in any way possible, should his goal be for the right cause."

"And the cause couldn't be any greater." Maruya added.

"Our top priority now: eliminate Yamishin at all costs!" Konohamaru continued. Takai smiled peacefully, as did Mitsuko.

"For once in my life..." Takai mentally spoke to Mitsuko. "I have hope for the future..."


	34. Plan of Action! Takai's Unease!

**Plan of Action! Takai's Unease?**

"Well what are we waiting for?" Haruhi perked up. "Let's go kick that Yamishin's butt!" But before Haruhi could stand and sound the charge, Konohamaru slapped a hand to her shoulder.

"No!" He said sternly. "When we faced the eight guardians to the tower, some were defeated only by luck. I know if it weren't for Hanabi and Maruya, I'd be dead. We must come up with a better strategy to defeating Yamishin."

"Couldn't agree more..." Shikari said. "These Uchiha aren't to be underestimated, Ayane can tell you that."

"Hmph!" Ayane grumbled with a turn in the head.

"Does he have any more guards up ahead?" Asked Tatsuno.

"No...But, it's strange..." Takai said.

"Strange?" Asked Hanabi.

"Yamishin announced his betrayal five years ago, yet I do not believe eight ninjas of mediocre level was all he could conjure. I believe he may be hiding a few more Uchiha, in case things really hit South."

"What's our best approach?" Asked Konohamaru.

"Well, Sensei, I believe your approach to initially break in is what I was hoping for. Only make a few adjustments." Spoke Takai, then laid down on the ground, a piece of scroll with what appeared to be a map. "This is how the central tower, where Yamishin resides, looks like." Haruhi observed that there were four paths leading to the top with a red x was marked.

"Then we split into four teams, rather than fight individually?" Maruya observed.

"Exactly." Takai responded. "And if Yamishin has additional guards, we'll have strength in numbers. I just have one request."

"What's that?" Asked Kitsuin.

"If there are guards stationed along them four routes, I want the team I'm with to fight the guards while I go ahead."

"What?" Most of the team yelled.

"I need to fight Yamishin! It was him that doomed the Uchiha clan to be nothing more than savages. It's time I showed him the true power of an Uchiha." There was a pause for thought for most of them.

"You know..." Haruhi said. "Rather than say that, you should partly be thanking him." Takai looked to Haruhi in disgust.

"What?" He said quietly, trying to mask his rage.

"If it weren't for Yamishin doing what he did, we would never have met." Haruhi explained. Takai had to give her credit for thinking that.

"True. But one good deed doesn't pardon him from all the evil he has done." Said Takai.

"Alright, Takai." Said Konohamaru. "You'll be in my team, and should the time come, I'll get you to Yamishin."

"Thanks, Sensei." Takai said.

"That's one team decided then." Hanabi said.

"No it isn't!" Said Mitsuko. "If you fight Yamishin, I do too!"

"No!" Said Takai. "Your presence is needed here with the others." Takai gave Mitsuko a look before she bowed down in defeat.

"Fine!" She hissed.

"Haruhi, you're with me and Mitsuko." Said Maruya.

"Oh, now I'm paired with her?" Mitsuko yelled.

"Yes you are." Maruya said with a smile. Mitsuko growled and was about to retort, but couldn't argue against Maruya.

"Okay! Okay! Just no more conditions!" She growled.

"Inuzuka twins, you're with me." Hanabi said.

"Yes!" They said together, not wanting to offend their strict Aunt.

"Guess that leaves the three of us." Said Shikari to Ayane and Tatsuno.

"Why do the other teams get to have Jonin?" Whined Ayane.

"I don't think it's wise to underestimate Tatsuno." Replied Hanabi. "After all, you've never seen him fight seriously."

"Only you, Sensei." The mysterious Genin said. "Don't worry, they'll be safe with me."

"We're counting on yah." Said Shikari.

"Alright." Said Konohamaru. "If there's nothing left to discuss we should-" But on those words, they heard a dark laugh echo throughout the basement, sending chills to everyone.

"It's him!" Said Mitsuko.

"Yamishin!" Takai ended. They paused for the laugh to finish.

"Poor insignificant fools!" He spoke. His words echoed from all around, so it couldn't be pinpointed. "You really thought you could come here and defeat me! You underestimate my powers!"

"A power that's not yours!" Barked Takai, beading with sweat. "If you're so confident, then come down here and fight me!"

"Oh, Takai, always the impatient one. But after hearing such an inspired plan, how could I resist such a sporting opportunity?"

"He heard everything?" Hanabi grimaced. "How?"

"This castle isn't just a place I call home. Everything that happens behind its walls, I shall know about. Now, I shall position my four best guards, my Shiten'no, to the four paths to my tower. If you can defeat them, you may pass to me, where I can truly show you the difference in our power!" and with an evil laugh, his voice vanished, and the cold chill was lifted from their shoulders.

"Grr! Damn it!" Cursed Takai. He was about to run for the exit when Konohamaru, Haruhi and Shikari held him down. "Let me go! I'll show that arrogant bastard!"

"Don't try it!" Said Shikari.

"We need to stick to the plan!" Haruhi pleaded. Soon, Takai stopped resisting.

"He'll pay..." Muttered Takai.

"Alright!" Said Hanabi. "Now's the time to strike. His Shiten'no sounds powerful, but they're not as powerful as ninja from the Leaf Village! Let's go!" And the four teams mobilised out of the basement and headed up the endless staircases, right until they came to a circular corridor, and with it came four doors."

"This is it!" Said Haruhi with passion.

"Don't screw this up." Said Mitsuko.

"She won't." Said Maruya said with faith.

"Us two together, again, huh?" Said Shikari to Ayane.

"It seems fate has a strange design to team us up." She replied.

"Not as strange as the Inuzuka twins." Said Tatsuno.

"Remember all you learned from my sister, you two..." Hanabi said.

"We will!" Said Kitsuin.

"We won't let you down!" Squeaked Hitsuin.

"Dont let your anger take hold." Said Konohamaru to Takai.

"I'll try..." Said Takai. And with a caring smile from Haruhi to Takai, the four teams went to confront the Shiten'no.


	35. The Shiten'no Appear

**The Shiten'no Appear**

At the very top of the central tower was Yamishin's throne room, a darkly lit room with stone walls. Although it was hardly to be called a throne room, where Yamishin sat was more throne-like than any other. Before him knelt four shadowed figures.

"No doubt you have heard the rumours." Spoke Yamishin in a high and commanding voice. "That several Leaf forces have invaded parts of the castle. I want you, my faithful bodyguards to guard the four paths to my position."

"Leaf ninja..." Spoke one. "This should be interesting.

"They are not to be underestimated." Called a voice behind Yamishin. The voice was revealed to be Ryoko, the ninja who attacked Haruhi and her group before.

"As my personal bodyguard, Ryoko here tested the strengths of our Leaf friends. They were able to defeat him at 20% of his overall power." Explained Yamishin.

"Not bad." Said a female voice in the group. "All of those weakling eight guardians couldn't beat him at 10%."

"But now I grow weary of them. You may kill them. But you must bring Takai and his dearest sister Mitsuko to me alive..." Yamishin concluded. And the four mobilised out of the throne room.

"What of me, sir?" Asked Ryoko. "Shall I assist them?"

"No. It will be better to watch them squirm without your help..."

Meanwhile, Hanabi, Hitsuin and Kitsuin were all heading up their narrow passageway.

"Hanabi-Sensei?" Asked Hitsuin.

"Yes?" Hanabi replied.

"Why did you pick us for your team? Wouldn't it have been better to go with your own team?" Hanabi paused.

"It was just a matter of arrangement. If I were to go with my team, they'd be on short supply of Chakra users. By going with you two, while Nara goes in my place, it balances out the teams."

"Then why did Takai and Konohamaru-Sensei go as a pair?" asked Kitsuin.

"Sarutobi and the defected Uchiha are the strongest Jonin and Genin on our side. One less member won't slow them down."

"Not true!" Hitsuin said. "Haruhi-chan's way stronger than Takai-kun!"

"Believe what you will." Hanabi replied. Just then, they came to a very large room with finely crafted swords, shields and other metallic weapons making up the decorations of the room. "Be on your guard, you two...I sense a strong Chakra nearby..." Then she activated her Byakugan, but upon activation, she gasped. "What is this?" Hitsuin, not wanting to bother asking, activated her own Byakugan, to see that everything in the room was overflowing with Chakra.

"Wh-What does this mean?" Hitsuin gasped. "The walls have Chakra all around them!" Suddenly, among the Chakra appeared a ninja. Both female Byakugan users had to disable their Kekkei Genkai to get a better look at him; along with the traditional black cloak, he was a lightly tanned man with an afro hairstyle and his face meant business. He stood cross armed to the three intruders.

"It means you shall lose to I, Kanezuka Uchiha." He spoke in a deep and serious voice. "I shall not harm you, should you attempt to flee; but be warned, I shall kill you, should you choose to face me." Despite the sweat coming from Hanabi, she got into a battle stance.

"We can't give up here, you two!" She battle-cried. And the Inuzuka twins did the same. The guardian named Kanezuka sighed.

"Very well, may my hand be your doom..."

Meanwhile the three Genin, Shikari, Ayane and Tatsuno headed up a flight of stairs, hoping to get to their target as quickly as possible.

"I really hate Yamishin." Whined Ayane. "Why does he need so much stairs?"

"To slow us down." Said Tatsuno.

"And to tire us out!" Shikari said.

"How strong do you think these Shiten'no guys are?" Asked Ayane.

"We have to assume they're stronger than that clown we fought." Said Shikari. "Maybe even stronger than all of us put together." Ayane gulped.

"Why couldn't we go together?" Ayane persisted.

"The last thing we need is all four of the Shiten'no guys together. If they're apart, their risk level is reduced." Shikari answered again. Tatsuno sped up to Shikari.

"Don't mind Ayane." He whispered to him. "She asks questions relentlessly when she gets nervous."

"Can't blame her." Shikari replied. "She almost died against that other Uchiha. Now she's asked to fight someone even stronger."

"If you don't mind, this fight may be a little easier, if I try something out with your Wind Chakra."

"My Wind Chakra?" Shikari replied, confused as to what Tatsuno's offer was, and the nature of his powers.

"What are you two whispering about?" Asked Ayane again. Just when Shikari was about to go nuts from Ayane's nervous questions, they came to the top of the long staircase. And in front of them was a small passageway that ended with an arch that led to a large room. The three walked cautiously towards the arch and passed through it. The large room that they came to was a dome shaped interior that was fairly decorated many wall patterns and symbols.

"Well for an Uchiha, they certainly have fine tastes." Said Tatsuno.

"Why thank you." Called a voice. Then from a short flash came the three's opponent: a silver haired young man with the trademark cloak; his chin was long and pointy and his face looked very composed. "For Leaf Ninja, you have nice manners."

"We didn't come here for a tea party!" Barked Shikari. "Now let us through to Yamishin if you don't want to fight!"

"Mmmm? Not so polite after all. Sorry kid, orders from upstairs say you can't go higher than this. If you go back now, then you can keep your lives, but once you decide to fight, I can't guarantee you'll live."

"You sure you're an Uchiha?" Asked Ayane. "You seem too kind."

"It's just how I am. No amount of Uchiha reviving can change that."

"And the hair? All the Uchiha we seen had black hair. You're the first one we've seen with a different hair colour."

"As I mentioned, it was part of who I was. Sadly I don't have all day, do you have business here or not?" At that, the three prepared for battle.

"Sorry, you look like a nice guy, but we need to get through you!" Said Shikari. The Uchiha gave a gentle sigh.

"As you wish. I, Futagoza Uchiha, shall bring you a swift end." Suddenly, the newly identified Uchiha's Chakra shot up.

"Wh-What the hell?" Tatsuno whispered in shock as Futagoza's human form was rapidly changing...

The only pair of the group, Takai and Konohamaru, began running through a spiral corridor to get to Yamishin, until they were knocked off balance by a distant rumble.

"Whoa!" Konohamaru jolted, trying to stay up.

"What was that?" Takai asked looking in its direction.

"Sounds like someone already found their Shiten'no..." Konohamaru identified.

"Then we better hurry to meet ours." Takai said and kept running.

"I hope you realize..." Konohamaru said while running. "That once you race ahead to Yamishin, I'll be fighting the Shiten'no by myself."

"I know..." Said Takai. "But why didn't you bring Haruhi?"

"Her place was needed elsewhere, I suppose." But before they could continue talking, they finally arrived at a longer, straighter, larger and brighter corridor than the last one. "Be on your guard..."

"Yamishin is just ahead of that corridor..." Said Takai.

"Don't get too excited." Konohamaru warned.

"I'm going now!" Takai yelled as he rushed to the door ahead.

"Takai, wait!" Konohamaru ordered, but it was too late, Takai received a painful kick from nowhere, sending him flying back to the other side.

"Tisk, tisk, tisk!" hissed a voice that gave the pair the creeps. And appearing from thin air came a differently clothed kunoichi. As opposed to the traditional black cloak, this new opponent wore a black vest, pants and boots; she too had long black hair and wore the Sharingan eyes to her creepy face. She stood in a feral-like posture.

"So you're one of the Shiten'no..." Konohamaru identified.

"Correct, Leaf ninja..." She hissed again. "And you wont he getting past Hogu Uchiha anytime too soon, unless..."

"Unless what?" Konohamaru asked.

"I bring him..." Hogu pointed to Takai. "To Yamishin."

"I'd rather him go alone than be escorted by someone like you." Konohamaru growled.

"Hard way it is." She hissed bitterly, preparing to fight Konohamaru.

The last team, Haruhi, Mitsuko and Maruya all raced through many flights of stairs to their destination.

"Lets get one thing straight, Uzumaki." Said Mitsuko. "I'm only here because my brother asked me to. That doesn't mean we're gonna be pally-pally from now on, got it?"

"Fine by me." She said. "But don't you go abandoning me or Maruya in the middle of battle, got it?"

"Fine, whatever. I was planning to fight the Shiten'no anyway to test my skills." Mitsuko laughed.

"There will be a time for battle..." Maruya said. "But it shouldn't be between us." Then they finally came to a small circular room with natural light coming from a nearby window. "I never knew Castle Mashin could look so bright in one particular spot."

"Me neither..." Said Haruhi. But the biggest surprise was yet to come: from the rafters of the room came their opponent. None of the three were expecting to see a little girl, around six, be challenging them. She wore the same cloak as her comrades and her black hair was made into a small plait.

"A girl?" The three females gasped.

"You meanies better leave!" She squeaked, trying to be serious. But no matter how much the three looked at the little girl, they couldn't treat her seriously.

"Uhh, this kid's a Shiten'no?" Haruhi muttered in bewilderment.

"Of course I am!" She squeaked. "Lord Yamishin chose me himself!" Then it suddenly dawned on Mitsuko.

"Y-You're Ubu!" She gasped. The other two gasped also.

"The Ubu that Yamishin revived in your story?" Maruya asked.

"The same!" Replied Mitsuko.

"Yeah, I'm Ubu!" The girl replied. "I was trained by Lord Yamishin himself! And I'm going to prove it!" She got into a stance. But Maruya smiled.

"Haruhi, Mitsuko, please sit this one out..." She commanded. "You sure?" Haruhi asked.

"If Yamishin's intentions were to make Ubu a killing machine, then you could be underestimating her, greatly." Mitsuko said.

"Don't worry..." Maruya said. "I feel this girl's been greatly misled, and as a Shinobi of the Leaf, it's my duty to steer her on the right path...before its too late..." Ubu looked to Maruya with uncertainty before going into her stance.

"O-Okay! I'll show you just how strong the Shiten'no are!" She yelled in a high pitch voice and wildly charging for Maruya.

_Now with all four teams ready to face the dreaded Shiten'no, they're ready to put their skill to the test! Will they be able to defeat Ubu, Kanezuka, Futagoza and Hogu? Or will these opponents be their final battle?_

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**A/N: Just to spice things up, leave a review on which fight you wanna see first. Are you anxious to see Hanabi fight Kanezuka? Perhaps you're curious to see what Jutsu Tatsuno uses? Simply vote which is your fave and I'll write that first :)**


	36. Fight for your Lives - Part 1

**Fight for your Lives -Part 1**

The three Hyuga blooded Leaf ninja stood before their Uchiha enemy; Hanabi, Hitsuin, Kitsuin and the two puppies, Okami and Koinu stared down Kanezuka, who was relatively calm.

"Name your strongest fighter." He called. This made the five nervous.

"That would be you, right?" Kitsuin said to Hanabi.

"We're all of equal strength!" Said Hanabi. This attracted Kanezuka's attention.

"The Chakra level of a Jonin is as high as a Genin's?" He replied.

"In the family of the Leaf, not even the Hokage has the right to call himself strongest." Hanabi countered. "If you want to fight the strongest, it'll be all of us at once!" Kanezuka smiled.

"This should make things far more interesting." Then he raised a finger, alarming the Leaf ninja, and pointed at Hitsuin.

"Watch out!" Hanabi snapped in terror as the unexpected happened: a steel bar flew out of Kanezuka's finger and hurtled for Hitsuin. Hanabi, having the foresight to see the attack coming, shoved Hitsuin and her pet dog out of the bar's path, ready to take the full force of the attack. However Kanezuka's plan was much more devious; the bar latched onto Hanabi's neck, like a dog collar and forced her to the wall where the metal dug into the wall, forcing Hanabi to become almost shackled by the neck on it's grasp.

"Ughhh!" She coughed, as the steel strained to her neck.

"Shame." Kanezuka sighed. "A fight with the strong over the weak would have been a worthy challenge. But the opposite should be entertaining nonetheless." Immediately, the twins rushed to Hanabi's aid, trying to wrench the bar away from their choking aunt.

"Hold on, Hanabi-sensei...!" Kitsuin growled, using all his strength but to no avail.

"It's too tight!" Hitsuin wailed.

"It's hopeless." Said Kanezuka. "The only way to release the woman is to defeat me. The longer it takes, the more likely she'll suffocate and die." Hitsuin looked to Kanezuka in disgust and back to Hanabi.

"Fight...him..." Hanabi coughed.

"But Hanabi-Sensei!" Hitsuin cried.

"I can hold on..." Hanabi replied. "Just...hurry..." Hitsuin hesitated before nodded, looked to her brother and went to face the Shiten'no.

"Let's do this, Okami!" Kitsuin growled, while his pet barked in reply.

"Let's do this for Hanabi-Sensei, Koinu!" Said Hitsuin softly, trying to mask her emotions. Her puppy barked too.

"Two kids and their mutts. I was expecting a little more challenge." Kanezuka retorted. But nevertheless, the four attacked with their Fang Over Fangs, creating a four-way combo that attacked Kanezuka from all sides. However, all four attacks were deflected away, throwing them to the other side of the field each.

"What the?" Kitsuin growled. When he recovered, he seen that Kanezuka was surrounded by giant steel plates that had equally large dents on it's surface, caused by the twins quad-attack. "As I suspected." Said Kitsuin. "He uses metal as his main form of attack."

"Metal?" Hitsuin gasped.

"Sharp." Kanezuka commented. "Correct, this is my Kekkei Genkai: Tetsufunzen, I can create Metal at will using my Chakra. Having the Sharingan only makes it much more deadly."

"He can control metal?" Hitsuin gasped. Suddenly, one of the swords from the decorative walls came loose and flew itself just past Hitsuin, cutting her cheek in the process.

"Correct. If we were in a metal-less environment, such as a meadow, there would be approximately three hundred and fifty six ways to kill you. In here, where the metal is everywhere, that number is risen to one thousand four hundred and forty nine ways. If I so desired, I could end your life before you even realised you had one." Hitsuin was now sweating bullets and shaking like a leaf, fearing the awesome powers of Kanezuka.

But then, Kitsuin attacked Kanezuka from behind, but it was worthless as the metal-user deflected it with another steel defence.

"Then why don't you?" Kitsuin barked. "Why not take us out right now?"

"Because it would be boring to take out a defenceless woman and two snot-nosed brats." Kanezuka replied. "I want to enjoy this fight for as long as possible." He clapped his hands together, then a metal tendril rose from the ground and tried to pierce Kitsuin. The agile Inuzuka dodged it before it could hit. But a tendril came from the tendril that passed and tried to pierce him again, but it was dodged again. "That's it, dance. Dance and see how long you can survive." A fast array of tendrils split from the original two and although some deviated and hit the walls, they all came for Kitsuin. Acting fast, he dodged all of the essential life-threatening ones, keeping Okami close to his chest. But the last dodge only made him surrounded by tendrils, with no possible exit. "Nowhere left to run."

"_Crap!" _Kitsuin thought to himself.

But while Kanezuka was distracted by Kitsuin, his sister appeared with Koinu on her head who sprayed the enemy with her Dynamic Marking, right on his eyes. "Arghh! My eyes! You little brat!" He flailed around, trying to get the pain away. Hitsuin acted fast and freed Kitsuin from the surrounding tendrils.

"Sorry I froze back there, but I'm back now!" Hitsuin said.

"Heh! I'll let it slide if you can teach Okami that nice trick back there." Kitsuin replied, failing to stay mad at his sister.

"Let's get him!" Hitsuin growled. But then, they could hear the scream of Hanabi, as the collar on her neck began to tighten. "We better hurry, Hanabi-Sensei can't hold on much longer... So, let's hit this guy with everything we got!" Then the four launched another wave of Fang Over Fang. And this time, it was a direct hit, the four's attack ground together to crush Kanezuka in the middle. He gave a pain induced yell in the middle and the twins and dog let up their attack, leaving the opponent to rot in the dust.

"That should be it, Hanabi-Sensei! We beat him, so you should be able to get out." Kitsuin called. Then through her airlessness and suffering, she successfully tore the metal collar off her neck and gasped for air, panting each breathe like she was glad to breathe again.

"Th-...Thank you...You two..." Hanabi panted.

"What kind of person would do that to have fun?" Kitsuin growled, looking at the smoke in disgust. But as the smoke cleared, they seen a shadow that gave the twins a horror filled chill down their spine. When the smoke cleared, Kanezuka emerged, but none like the five had seen: his body had transformed into pure metal; his head, arms, legs and torso were all steel, even his clothes had radically transformed. Not a single shred of flesh of blood were to be seen, but despite that, the spot that he was hit had the wound, showing his spine to the bone, yet even with such a deep fatal wound, he was still breathing.

"That was quite an attack." Said Kanezuka with a voice that had a hollow metallic chill to it.

"No way!" Kitsuin yelled in frustration.

"He took a direct hit with our four way combo!" Hitsuin gasped in horror. "How can he be still standing?" Then the giant hole caused by the twins attack was filled with metal until the skin and organs were completely regenerated.

"To my other peers, they would most likely be dead from such an attack. It is most unfortunate it was me you attacked." Kanezuka said.

"You can regenerate wounds?" Hanabi bellowed.

"Correct. But I'd rather not resort to it; along with the Chakra it consumes, suffering fatal wounds hurts beyond anything."

"So all we need to do is keep hitting you with those attacks until you're dead!" Hanabi smiled.

"You could, but I won't fall victim to an attack like that twice. And now that I'm in my steel form, your odds of survival are dwindling if that was your best effort." Kanezuka replied.

"But now that I'm back in the fray, we can really-" But something hit Hanabi hard, almost half of her Chakra was gone. "What the?"

"Beginning to notice?" Kanezuka asked. "My metal has quite the handy effect: those that touch it will have their Chakra absorbed by it, and the longer you touch it, the more Chakra will be drained." The steel bar that was wrenched from Hanabi's neck sprung to life again and shot towards Kanezuka, and merged with his arm. "Much obliged for the power boost."

"You fiend..." Hanabi growled.

"That isn't the best part." Kanezuka resumed, then pointed to the three ninja and an equal number of tiny steel ball bearings shot from his finger. Before they could react, the ball bearings shoved themselves down Hanabi, Hitsuin and Kitsuin's throats. They tried to force it out, but the steel balls were already all the way down into their stomachs.

"Ahh!" Hitsuin coughed. "This is bad!"

"Indeed." Said Kanezuka. "On normal circumstances, once those balls have found your way into your body, I simply need to command them to rip you from the inside out." This made the three horrified. "But as you may have witnessed, I am a sporting man. I will give you five minutes to try and kill me. If you can, then the balls in you will dissolve and threaten you no longer. But fail, and they will do what they were intended to do: kill you."

But then, Hanabi did the unexpected: she powered up her Gentle Fist and pounded both Hitsuin and Kitsuin with it, causing both to fall unconscious, with no explanation why. The puppies, naturally distressed by their owner's endangerment, grew hostile towards Hanabi and tried to attack her, but the Hyuga simply knocked both aside. This too got Kanezuka curious.

"Ohhhh? You're very quick to preach about the 'Leaf family'; which family turns on their own?" Kanezuka asked.

"I'll fight you alone if you spare the Genin." Hanabi pleaded. "If I can't kill you in your arranged time, then kill me and only me."

"Sorry, but once those balls get into you, death for me or my opponent is the only option left." Kanezuka said. Hanabi growled to herself.

"Then I'll just have to kill you now!" Hanabi battle-cried. Then with her Byakugan ready, she attacked. Kanezuka matched her blow to blow, not letting Hanabi land a hit. She then jumped up and attempted to attack from above; she heel kicked with all her strength, but though the attack was successful, Hanabi backed off and rubbed her foot, as the attack was made on a metal target.

"Did you think kicking a solid iron enemy would work?"

"I figured that!" Hanabi growled. She stood up and ignored the pain on her foot. "If I'm to defeat you, I guess I have no choice..."

"Hmmm? Got an ace up your sleeve?"

"You can call it that." She got into a stance. "Did you know Hyuga who've mastered the Gentle Fist can rupture vital Chakra nodes on a person's body? Even the strongest ninja will be at a severe disadvantage if that happens."

"Interesting." Kanezuka replied. "And you aim to simply get past my defences and do that, is that it?"

"Something like that..." Hanabi then focussed a large amount of Chakra around her.

"_Amazing..." _Thought Kanezuka. "_She had more than half of her Chakra stolen, yet she can still muster up that much Chakra? The Leaf can be a fierce lot. Maybe it'll be easier to skip the remaining three minutes and just kill them all now...But this is the first time I've had a decent enough opponent, it could be years before another one comes. I think I'll keep playing with her_."

"You ready, Kanezuka?" Hanabi called from her shroud of Chakra.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Kanezuka replied eagerly. The Chakra around Hanabi raged on until she pulled her hand back, ready for her attack. But rather than charge, she launched her attack from her position, at least three metres away from Kanezuka.

"A Taijutsu attack from that range. How foolish!" But the Chakra launched from her fist in a large Chakra blast that threw Kanezuka off-guard and made a direct hit, sending him flying into the wall with debris scattering everywhere. Hanabi however was

"Eight Trigrams - 64 Palms Blast." Hanabi panted. "It's the first long range attack ever developed by the Hyuga clan…Once hit, the Chakra forces it's way into the victim's Chakra Network and blocks most of their Chakra pathways leading to the nodes. But the force of the attack is that strong that you're dead anyway. And to think, it normally takes all my Chakra to use this attack, and I finished you off with just over half of mine." After a brief moment of watching the dust cloud ravage from the blast, she sat down and finally caught up with her beating heart. "It's over..." But it was far from it, from the dust cloud that surrounded the remains of Kanezuka came a large steel spike that stabbed into Hanabi. "Wh-What?" And to further in Hanabi's shock, Kanezuka was still standing and unharmed. "I-Impossible!"

"That would be the case." Kanezuka replied. "You told me your attacks attack the Chakra nodes correct? My steel body is impervious to Chakra penetrations, not even the strongest Jutsu can get past this armour. All that little blast of yours did was knock me off my feet, and with my steel body, your attack almost tickled. Do you know what that means, Leaf girl? It means out of all of your little group, you are the one at the highest disadvantage against me. Even those two brats down there can put up a better fight, since they can inflict damage, should such an occurrence happen. But you? You can't even touch me with that style of Taijutsu!" Hanabi cursed under her breathe, at such a thing, and the pain she was going through. The spike retracted, leaving Hanabi to bleed.

"I...I can't win...?" Hanabi stuttered in shock.

"Even if you do attempt to find a way, you only have two minutes to do so." Kanezuka replied. "Now..." A larger palm sized steel ball came from his hand. "Entertain me..." And it fired for Hanabi's stomach and made a brutal impact.

"Aghhh!" Hanabi cried. Then a second one attacked her knee, forcing her down.

"Not done!" Kanezuka hollered, sending a barrage of the steel balls at Hanabi, causing extremely large damage.

"Ahhh!" Hanabi screamed. Then the barrage ceased. All over Hanabi's body were large bruises and multiple injuries.

"Killing you will be much too easy, I'll just let the balls do their work in a minute's time..." Kanezuka finished off. With every ounce of her strength she crawled to the twins.

"Hanabi-Sensei..." Muttered Hitsuin, awake now, but still weakened.

"Don't worry..." She said, weakly. "These injuries are nothing..."

"Don't kid yourself..." Kitsuin grunted. Hanabi simply laughed weakly.

"Do you remember when you asked why I let you come with me?" Asked Hanabi.

"You said it was to balance the teams, right?" Hitsuin replied.

"That was a lie...I did it for two reasons. Your mother, Hinata...she personally requested that I look after you..."

She thought back to the moment when she was ready to set off the morning the mission began. She was about to leave when...

"_Sister.._." Called a gentle voice. Hanabi turned to see her elder sister, Hinata; much more older and much more beautiful. "_Please wait a moment_..."

"_Yes, sister?" _Hanabi asked.

"_You're leaving for the mission Naruto-kun requested?" _Hinata asked.

"_Yes...They need hands to bring back the Uchiha. Your son and daughter are also coming_."

"_I know...I requested that they go, so they can be friends...But can I ask a favour_?"

"_What is it? I need to hurry up_." Hinata paused in unease.

"_Umm...C-Can you please look after my children? I can tell this is going to be a big mission for them...Can you make sure they don't die?_" Hanabi paused.

"_I'll do what I can. I am second-in-command, so I need to think of the welfare of all the team. Be aware of that._" Hinata smiled nonetheless.

"_Understood..." _Then she set off for the gates of the Leaf Village. The twins heard this with awe, that their mother would ask such a thing.

"A-And the second reason..." Hanabi stuttered, and with a tear-filled face she looked at both. "You may be the children of my sister, but you're still my family, and I love you both...And I'd rather die than see either of you die first..."

"Aunt Hanabi..." Hitsuin muttered with emotion. But Kanezuka looked to the emotional family.

"Such love will only beget weakness." He said. "It gives your opponent many opportunities to end your life. However, it will not matter that you will learn the lesson or not, time is up for you..." Hitsuin closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come.

"Haruhi-chan...I'm sorry..."

3, 2, 1...

* * *

**A/N: Ooooooh! What will happen to our beloved Hyuga and Inuzukai? Sorry to say though, that's for another time. Next time it's going to be Konohamaru's group. Will Konohamaru be able to deliver Takai safely past this new foe? And if so, can he fight off the Shiten'no when Hanabi failed when it was 5 on 1? Don't miss the action on the next chapter :D**


	37. Fight for your Lives - Part 2

**Fight for your Lives - Part 2**

The battle now turned to Konohamaru and Takai, who was unconscious, against the fierce looking Hogu, who was almost writhing with excitement.

"Takai?" Konohamaru called, but it was no use, he was out cold.

"Looks like it's just me 'n' you, Leaf ninja." Hogu hissed with anticipation. "Now, how would you like to die?"

"C-Come again?" Konohamaru gulped.

"I prefer my opponents to name me how they would die, so I can grant them that wish." Explained Hogu. "What's it gonna be, Leaf ninja? How shall you die?"

"Probably age?" Konohamaru meekly suggested. Hogu sighed heavily.

"Why do all my opponents say that?" She growled. "Specifically, why do I keep asking?"

"Not to seem rude, but it's my turn to offer a choice." Konohamaru said. "Allow me and my ally to pass, or be defeated." At this, Hogu began to laugh hysterically.

"You Leaf ninja are all the same! Alright, enough talk! I'll decide how you die!" And she charged at great speed, which caught Konohamaru off guard.

"Whoa!" He gasped. "She's almost as fast as I am using Tornado's Cry! No matter!" Konohamaru timed it and punched for Hogu. But the strange thing was, his hand passed right through her as she vanished completely. "What the?" Konohamaru desperately tried to pinpoint her location, but it was no good, it seemed like her Chakra was everywhere.

"You will never defeat me!" Said Hogu's voice as it seemed to echo from all directions. "Whatever speed you can muster, I will always be ten times faster!" It was then that her Chakra was finally pinpointed. But it was too late for Konohamaru to react or counterattack, Hogu attacked the defenceless Sarutobi with a painful kick.

"Grgghh!" Konohamaru growled as he was knocked away, and ready to make a counter attack, but it was too late, Hogu was already on the move, disappearing from sight.

"Do you understand the situation now, Leaf ninja?" Asked the echoing sound of Hogu. But despite the Shiten'no's lack of presence, she did raise a fair point. With the way things are, lack of intelligence towards her attacks to think of a strategy, Takai unconscious on the floor and Hogu holding all the cards in this game of cat and mouse, Konohamaru was at a serious disadvantage. Until...

"_Sensei? Sensei! Can you hear me?_" Konohamaru jumped at the sound of Takai's voice being heard. "_Don't look at me, the enemy will get suspicious_."

"_You're communicating telepathically?_" Konohamaru thought.

"_Yes. I'm feigning pain to lure the enemy into a false sense of security, and by doing so have discovered her abilities!_" Takai explained, as he laid on the ground playing dead.

"_You have_?" Konohamaru replied. "_How_?"

"_It should be obvious that she's a speed-type, and a really good one, my Sharingan can barely keep up..._" Takai explained. "_But it's not just speed, she's somehow warping space and time to aid in her powers. The Sharingan's in play once again._"

"_If she is as you say, then what do we do_?" Asked Konohamaru.

"_I have a plan, but it is very risky, and it will of course be a gamble._" It was then that Hogu launched another kick at Konohamaru weakening him again. But as soon as Konohamaru recovered, he grew a smile.

"I'm all for it!" He grinned. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Summoning two additional Konohamaru's to his side, he went up back-to-back with them, creating a circle with eyes on all sides. "Try and catch me now, Uchiha!" But the cold dark shriek of a laugh filled the battleground.

"It is very unwise to underestimate me!" Hogu laughed as she appeared right in the middle of the group and kicked the real Konohamaru thereby disabling the others in a thick cloud of smoke. But then...

"Where are you aiming?" Konohamaru appeared out of the thick cloud emitted from the clones and delivered the first blow to the face to Hogu. The Uchiha jumped back in surprise to this.

"You bastard!" She growled massaging her slightly swollen cheek then seen that the Konohamaru that was struck had vanished.

"I was taught a thing or two about Genjutsu." Konohamaru said. It was then that Hogu raised her eyes in suspicion.

"_Genjutsu_?" She thought. "_That's impossible! My Sharingan can see past them! How can this worm put me under a Genjutsu?_"

"It appears that I have underestimated you!" Hogu said to Konohamaru. "Not many people can fool my eyes like that."

"Well I am Grandson to the Third Hokage!" Konohamaru said with a smirk. "You better stop toying and finish me!" But then Konohamaru grew grim.

"_Are you sure about this_?" Konohamaru thought to Takai. "_One slip up and you're as good as dead._"

"_I'll be fine_." Takai said. "_You just be ready to deliver the finishing blow_."

"_Alright. Though, you might wanna do a rain check. I thought you wanted to run while I handled her?_" Konohamaru said.

"_I was about to. But watching you get beaten, I guess I changed my mind...Also you're the Captain in this operation, if you go, we're finished_."

"_Kind of a low blow for Hanabi, but thanks..._"

"_Also...Haruhi will never forgive me if I let you die..._" Konohamaru laughed to himself.

"_You really didn't have it in you to let go of Haruhi, did you?_"

"_Shut up! Now simmer down, I need to concentrate_!" Then Konohamaru got into a stance to fight Hogu.

"Keep up now!" Then Hogu sped up to keep out of sight of Konohamaru. After a few seconds, Hogu appeared behind him. "You're mine!" But to her astonishment, Konohamaru caught the punch. "What?"

"I said to finish me!" And he delivered a painful kick sending her flying, but she quickly recovered and sped up once more. However Konohamaru outstretched his arm behind him, which Hogu ran into. Quickly, she hopped away, clutching her neck where Konohamaru hit her.

"_What is this? He could barely land a finger on me, now he's matching me blow for blow!_" Hogu growled to herself. "_Do I have to resort to..._" But then she laughed.

"What's so funny?" Asked Konohamaru.

"I've figured out a worthy way to finish you off!" She said. "Though, don't blink. If you take your eyes off me for a second, you'll miss it!" She outstretched her arms and began focussing her Chakra.

"_What is she doing?_" Thought Konohamaru.

"Speed-Style - Demon's Dance!" She called. And she vanished. And before Konohamaru had time to react, Hogu reappeared. "Too bad, Leaf Ninja..." She formed a hand sign. "Advance!"

And then, Konohamaru screamed in pain as hundreds upon thousands of blows were made to him.

"GGRAAAAARGHHHH!" He screamed, and once it stopped, he fell to the ground, with many wounds to his body, his flat jacket was torn to shreds, and he looked to be near dead.

"Oh? You're still alive?" Asked Hogu. Konohamaru tried desperately to get up, but he was too weakened.

"Damn it!" He coughed.

"You won't be getting up too soon, after getting hit ten thousand times!" Hogu said.

"Wh-What?" Konohamaru gasped. "She's that fast?"

"Hahahaha!" Laughed Hogu, did you really think you could defeat me? Arrogant fool!" She reached into her pocket and took out a Kunai. "Brush up on your speed, in hell!"

But before the final blow was struck...

"Rasengan!" Takai yelled as he blew the Rasengan ball into Hogu's sides, blowing her away and greatly weakened her. Hogu wearily sat up to see that the Takai that attacked her was Konohamaru, unscathed and unbeaten.

"What?" Hogu coughed. "You were near death! Nobody can recover from my attack that fast!"

"That would be the case, if I wasn't the one you fought." Konohamaru explained. He pointed to what would be the battle-worn Konohamaru to reveal Takai was the one who took all the hits.

"How is that possible?" Growled Hogu.

"It's simple." Began Konohamaru. "Takai knew I couldn't defeat you from the start. Your speed was too great. Even faster than my Tornado's Cry. But speed users are Takai's specialty. When I created Shadow Clones earlier, you struck the real me, giving Takai enough time to disguise himself as me and attack you. When he did, he placed you under a minor Genjutsu when he punched you so to make the real me vanish. It was all about luck getting that switch made, but when it happened, you couldn't lay a finger on him because of his Sharingan. No matter how fast you were, Takai was always one step ahead. But the real plot to defeating you was to flush out any hidden abilities you may have had, namely that ten thousand punch attack. Once it was made, I knew you'd be vulnerable afterwards, so that was when I made the attack."

"A-And this was all his idea?" Hogu asked.

"Yeah! He may be young, but he's a smart one."

"You bastards..." She groaned before collapsing on the floor, unconscious.

"It was an excellent fight..." Konohamaru said and walked to the near-dead Takai. "You didn't have to fight her. If you didn't you wouldn't be this way."

"I know, but I guess I wanted to help..." Takai groaned. Konohamaru smiled before helping him up so he was sitting upright. "Is she dead?" Konohamaru reached into his bag and retrieved a medical kit.

"Nah, just unconscious. I couldn't kill someone with that much potential." Konohamaru replied before applying some anesthetic to a cloth and damping it over Takai's wounds.

"In the eyes of Yamishin, she is dead." Takai said.

"Well lets hope she still lives..." Said Konohamaru and began bandaging Takai up.

"So what now?" Asked Takai.

"Well Yamishin's up ahead, so we'll go there."

"Well then lets go!" Takai said standing up, but was forced back down by Konohamaru.

"You're still hurt and tired." Konohamaru said.

"I don't care, we need to hurry!" Takai said.

"Takai..." Said Konohamaru. "Who's your Sensei?" Takai pouted.

"You are."

"Good, besides..." He placed a hand on Takai's head. "If I took your hits, I'd expect you to do the same." Takai simply smiled.

"Thank you, Sensei ..."


	38. Special Chapter - Road to Jonin

**Special Chapter - Rise to Jonin**

To better understand the present, we must look to the past. The story of Konohamaru Sarutobi was one of hardship and trials on his path to Jonin, as well as his path to maturity.

It was the Jonin exam final round, and to pass, Konohamaru was pitted against a very wise and intelligent ninja of the Hidden Sand, with short black hair. The arena was a rock colliseum in the Hidden Sand Village, and every one of the Sand ninja had attended, including the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, much older and more experienced. And sitting beside him was Naruto. Also older, he wore a Jonin's flak jacket and watched the fight eagerly.

"Kurosuna is one of the Sand's most intelligent ninja." Gaara explained. "I do not expect Konohamaru will last against him." Naruto gave a laugh.

"Just you hold on to your gourd, Gaara, Cus you're gonna be blown away." Naruto replied. The young Chunin Konohamaru had just finished warming up.

"Ready to lose?" Asked a cocky Kurosuna. Konohamaru wasn't fazed.

"_Man..._" He thought to himself. "_This is just too easy!_"

"Begin!" The announcer of the battle called. Instantly, Konohamaru created twelve or so Shadow Clones. This got the crowd excited. And their excitement turned to ecstasy as the clones transformed into an army of naked female Konohamarus. The men in the crowd gave either wolf whistles, a stunned gasp or a waterfall of blood from their noses; while all the women tutted in disrespect. Poor Kurosuna never stood a chance as he was overrun by the Konohamaru's and collapsed from loss of blood lost from its nose. "Winner: Konohamaru!" The clones dispersed as the new Jonin cheered in victory. Gaara was astounded by the performance.

"I underestimated Konohamaru's resourcefulness..." Gaara said.

"Yup, no simple-minded man can defeat Konohamaru." Said Naruto.

"But Naruto, are you certain he's a good Jonin? There's more to being a Jonin than being able to knock people out through perversion, it's about leadership, skill, wisdom and the attribute that you and I look for: compassion. Konohamaru has not demonstrated any of these traits during this stage in the exam..."

"I understand what you're saying, Gaara...But I am certain Konohamaru possesses all these traits and more." Naruto assured. Gaara paused and smiled to not only his saviour but also to his friend.

"Then, I trust your judgement, dear friend." Gaara said stood and addressed the crowd. "Let it be known from this day forward that Konohamaru Sarutobi is an official Hidden Leaf Jonin." This got the crowd cheering, while Konohamaru cheered at this. There was, however one audience member of the crowd who was not happy: Hanabi Hyuga.

Three days later, once all the Leaf Ninja had returned to the Leaf Village, the party for Konohamaru had finally begun. The grounds of the Hokage mansion was the location of the party, and everyone had turned up to congratulate and celebrate Konohamaru's success, with sake and assorted foods.

"Congratulations, senpai!" A young Chunin girl said to Konohamaru.

"You're the best, Konohamaru!" Said a male Genin.

"I know, I know!" Laughed Konohamaru, a little tipsy with sake. "I aced that Jonin exam that it flipped the Kazekage's hat off!" The crowd cheered to this.

"Well he's certainly getting into the groove of it." Laughed Naruto, as he held a bowl of ramen.

"Though, he was nowhere near as bad as you were when you became Jonin." Laughed Sakura, who was nursing on some orange juice, on account of her pregnant state. Meanwhile with Konohamaru, after his 100th or so congratulations, he spotted someone in the crowd alone and hardly doing any celebrating.

"Hey, Hanabi!" Konohamaru smiled as he went over to the young Hyuga. "Wanna hear how I got the rank of Jonin?"

"No thanks, I was there." Said Hanabi, in a less interested tone and took a small sip of tea.

"Haha, spoiled sport!" Provoked Konohamaru.

"I suppose now that you're a Jonin, you'll be going on far more dangerous missions." Hanabi enquired.

"Of course, wouldn't be Jonin if I we weren't."

"And I suppose you'll be training until you reach new heights?"

"Who me?! Pshh! No way! My Shadow Clones, Rasengan and, of course, Sexy Jutsu is enough to defeat any opponent that comes my way!" At those words Hanabi sighed, took one last sip of her tea and walked away.

"Enjoy your party." She said, leaving Konohamaru to ponder her motives.

"Rgh! She scares me!"

It was only two days afterwards that Konohamaru and eleven other high ranking Jonin, including Hanabi, were present for a mission briefing from Tsunade. "Alright, team, we have an S-Rank mission that must be met with extreme caution!" Began the current Hokage.

"A criminal mercenary group has plundered a large amount of money from one of the neighboring villages of the Fire Country. There have been reports of the group consisting of six members and all are terribly strong. Our job is to neutralize this group and recover the stolen goods to their respective victims. Team 1 will consist of recon, they will go on ahead and gather intelligence of this group and come up with effective battle strategies. Team 2 will be the main assault group; they shall receive the intelligence from Team 1 and act according to their plans. Team 3 will be the medical group; reports also suggest the main guardsmen and various villagers have sustained multiple injuries, they will help to cope for the injured and when done, regroup with the first two and provide medical assistance should they need it. Understood?" The twelve gave a yes, with Konohamaru giving a more zealous yes. "Very good, move out!"

Konohamaru belonged to Team 2 along with Hanabi, a tall silent man called Seishoku who had black hair and a ragged Jonin flak jacket; and a somewhat petite woman called Mikoro, who had short blonde hair and had a generally calm demeanour.

"Alright!" Cheered Konohamaru. "Time to kick some bandit ass! We'll walk up and down them, they won't know what hit em!" Hanabi growled to herself, while Seishoku remained quiet.

"You must be pretty confident in your abilities." Said Mikoro. "I'll be counting on you."

"Don't worry!" Said Konohamaru. "If all goes well, you won't have to fight! Alright team, let's go!" And the four headed off with all their speed. During their run, however, Seishoku approached Hanabi.

"Is Konohamaru-kun strong?" He asked, finally dropping his silence. "The way he runs his mouth would suggest he's-"

"He's not." Said Hanabi bluntly. "Be extra careful, if not Sarutobi may just cost us the mission." Seishoku grunted in thought at this.

It was just over an hour later before the team arrived at the spot where Team 1 told them to come. It looked to have been a mountainous cave entrance with heavy woodland surrounding it. The Leaf team had the advantage of both stealth and hiding. Soon Konohamaru's team regrouped with Team 1 who were surveying the situation.

"What's the situation?" Hanabi asked one of the Team 1 Jonin.

"It's as Lady Tsunade said..." Began the leader of the team. "Six members have just stolen a large amount of money from the nearby village. After going to said village, we discovered they took four hostages to secure their getaway." Konohamaru's team saw four hostages, two men and two women tied up beside where the bandits were.

"Cowards..." Said Mikoro.

"Bastards..." Growled Konohamaru.

"The group are counting their haul to make sure they have what they need." Continued the recon leader. "Once they do, they'll cut one of the hostages free, make their getaway so that hostage can free the others."

"What's the counter plan?" Asked Hanabi.

"We must wait for when the group cut the hostage free. When they do, our team will liberate the remaining hostages and take them out of harm's way, while assault team do what they do best. We only have a small window to attack them, so make it count..." With this, Hanabi grew nervous; normally she could take them down in half the time the recon leader described, but she also needed to make sure Konohamaru wouldn't screw things up. But before Hanabi could think of ways for Konohamaru not to screw up...

"Forget that! We should all-out attack!" Konohamaru boasted. "If the hostages aren't there when we make the attack, they won't see how cool I am!" And as quickly as he said those words, he jumped out to face the mercenaries.

"No, no, no!" Hanabi screamed, as her fears came true.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Yelled the recon team. Quickly the mercenaries spotted Konohamaru.

"Well look what we have here!" Taunted one. "Someone's trying to be a hero!"

"Alright, scumbags!" Commanded Konohamaru. "Free the hostages and come quietly then I won't have to kick your ass!" This made the group howl in laughter.

"And what are you gonna do, Leaf ninja?!" The biggest of the lot asked.

"Thought you might say that!" Konohamaru laughed. "Now watch in awe!" He then transformed into his sexy form, harboring large breasts and a cute face, expecting all six to be out cold. "You want some, boys?"

It had no effect whatsoever. If anything, it only caused the group to laugh harder, throwing Konohamaru off and transforming him back. All the hostages could do was watch helplessly, as their savior was being ridiculed.

"That's all you can do?!" One of the mercenaries laughed.

"The Leaf village must be pretty desperate if they made you Jonin!" Another laughed.

"Stop laughing!" Konohamaru yelled, as he charged in with a Rasengan, but his target dodged and grabbed Konohamaru by the throat.

"Call yourself a Jonin?!" He laughed and kicked Konohamaru so hard, he could feel his ribs smash on impact. At this point, the kick Konohamaru suffered brought him back to reality, that at his current state, he had no chance. "You don't even deserve to be ninja!" But before the bandit could deliver another blow, a great whirlwind appeared and bashed the attacker away. Mikoro had joined in.

"Stay away from Konohamaru-kun!" She yelled. It was then that the other six joined in too.

"It's an ambush! The commander of the group yelled. But it mattered not, as the strong mercenaries were clobbering the recon group. "Forget these weaklings! Take the hostages and loot and fallback!" They did as they were told, making their swift retreat while everyone was down. But one stayed behind to handle unfinished business.

"You may think you're a ninja!" He laughed as he approached Konohamaru. "But you're gonna die here!" He took a Kunai and lunged it at Konohamaru. But before the ninja's dagger could pierce him, he collapsed from the pain of the last kick.

Konohamaru thought it was all over. He thought he had died, and was reunited with his grandfather and uncle...However he groggily woke up to hear an argument between the leader of the recon group and Hanabi.

"Damn it, Hanabi! What was the Hokage thinking putting an idiot like that in this group?!"

"It wasn't my decision to bring him along! If it were my decision, I'd have never picked him, even if he were the last ninja in the Leaf Village!" Hanabi argued.

"Whatever!" The leader argued again. "Our team are all better now, we'll go on ahead. Make sure Seishoku gets healed up and...you know what to do." The argument ended as the leader and his team set off.

"Ah! Thank goodness!" A kind hearted voice called. "Konohamaru-kun is alive!" The voice was a female medical ninja that came from Team 3. Konohamaru sat up to see his upper clothes were removed and his torso bandaged up.

"What happened...?" He groggily grunted.

"You fainted from the pain." The medic briefed. "We made it just in time to help you." Konohamaru took this time to look around, blood had spilled the ground all around them.

"And the mercenaries?" He asked.

"They got away..." The medic continued. "We suffered heavy injuries, and..." Before she could finish, Konohamaru spotted Seishoku who was getting a nasty wound to the chest being treated by two medical ninja.

"Seishoku..." Konohamaru gasped. The tall ninja remained quiet and only pointed to something. When Konohamaru looked in the same direction, his eyes widened in horror.

Mikoro was lying face down, blood surrounding her body, dead.

"No..." Konohamaru shuddered. He crawled over to the dead body of Mikoro to see if there was any signs of life, her pretty face was blank and didn't react to any of Konohamaru's actions. Konohamaru couldnt hold back his emotions and finally gave a scream in sorrow.

"Why?!" He cried. "Why did she have to die?!" He sobbed, but then Hanabi walked to him.

"She died trying to save you!" Hanabi informed. "Mikoro...Her Wind-Style Jutsu was unrivaled in the Leaf Village, except Naruto Uzumaki, of course. Her skills were vital for the success of this mission, now, it's bordering on impossible..."

"Why!?" Konohamaru yelled. "Why would she want to protect me?!"

"Because she liked you!" Hanabi yelled back. "She liked how you were constantly flexing your muscles, that she found you likeable! But as it turned out your motor mouth and your inability to back up your words got her killed!" Konohamaru was shocked by this revelation. "Do you know what her last words were before she died?!"

"H-How should I know?!" Konohamaru whispered.

"'If Konohamaru-kun ever lives through this, I hope he becomes a great ninja.'" Hanabi recited. "Hah! Whether you live or not, you will always be a weak ninja! Mikoro's sacrifice was such a waste!"

"Shut up!" Konohamaru bellowed. "Mikoro didn't have to die for me! And I will be a great ninja!" But then Hanabi got into a stance.

"Then show me! Try and defeat me!" Hanabi challenged. Konohamaru primarily picked up Mikoro's body and laid her down out of the way.

"Hanabi-chan, is this necessary?" Asked the medic who treated Konohamaru.

"It is!" Hanabi answered. "Now stand aside!" The two readied for battle with one another. Konohamaru quickly charged and attempted to punch Hanabi, but she quickly dodged and tapped Konohamaru with her fingers. The attack caused Konohamaru to spit out blood as he fell to the floor weakened.

"Konohamaru!" The medic cried in panic.

"If you can't stand a chance against me, what hope is there in fighting against ruthless warlords, evil tyrants or powerful Rogue Ninja?!" Hanabi asked. "You're arrogant! You spent all your time showing off and saying you're the greatest, when most Chunin can beat you!" Konohamaru tried to kick her then, but Hanabi dodged again and kicked him onto a tree. "I trained twelve hours everyday since I was a child to have even a chance of becoming Jonin! Yet you go around as if it's the easiest thing to do! A Jonin is a leader, wise, caring, and is supposed to be the pride of their village! You are none of those things!" And finally, Hanabi said something which got to Konohamaru the most:

"Your Grandfather would be ashamed of you." This made the medical team gasp at Hanabi's audacity.

"Aaaargghhh!" Konohamaru screamed and charged with a Rasengan, but Hanabi dodged again, causing Konohamaru to trip in the dirt. "Take that back!"

"I will not!" Yelled Hanabi. "I speak the truth! If you want to be a great ninja, like Mikoro wanted you to be, then you should be stronger than your grandfather! You wouldn't last five minutes against him!" All the while she spoke, Konohamaru tried to land a punch, but all were futile. To end his pathetic attempts, she delivered a painful punch to his recently healed wound, greatly winding him.

"Damn you..." Konohamaru grunted.

"Call this defeat number 1." Hanabi said. "In your long career as Jonin, expect that count to go way up." She began to walk away, as Seishoku joined her, now recovered from his injury.

"Where are you going?!" Konohamaru yelled.

"We have a mission to continue!" Hanabi said. "You will stay here and wait for our return." But no matter how he wanted to get up and declare 'I want to join!', he couldn't do it. He could only sit and watch as Seishoku and Hanabi headed off.

"Damn it!" He growled. But then, the medic came to Konohamaru.

"She's right, you know." She said.

"What?!" Konohamaru panted.

"My name is Kaisei." The girl explained as she continued to heal him. "Not only am I a Medical Ninja, I'm a sensor too. Despite what Hanabi-san claims, you have a vast wealth of Chakra most ninja would kill for."

"So?" Konohamaru asked. "If I'm not strong enough, that Chakra's no good."

"I can tell, you want to help Hanabi-san, don't you?"

"Of course! This is my first mission, I don't want to fail it ...Not after Mikoro gave her life for me..."

"There's just one way for Hanabi-san to recognise you. You must show her an ability that proves your strength."

"But all I know is Shadow Clones and Rasengan!" Konohamaru argued. "How can I let Hanabi recognize me if I use Jutsu she knows?" Then, Kaisei took out a scroll and gave it to Konohamaru.

"Mikoro wanted to give you this before she died...It's a Jutsu scroll that was her signature move." Konohamaru opened it and read the name of the Jutsu.

"Wind-Style - Tornado's Cry?" Konohamaru read.

"Yes. I believe if you show your understanding of this Jutsu to Hanabi-san, she'll recognize your talents." Konohamaru looked to the scroll then to Mikoro.

"I can't learn a Jutsu in just two seconds flat!" Konohamaru said in despair. "And if it's Mikoro's signature move, that makes it all the more harder!"

"Even a basic understanding would be enough to prove it." Kaisei said. "I can sense your primary element is Wind Chakra. Learning the first steps to this Jutsu is easiest, but the latter stages are the hardest." Konohamaru thought for a second; he wanted to prove his worth, and learning this Jutsu in its earliest stages was the only way...

"Let's do it!"

Three hours later, with Hanabi, the plan they originally had was initiated. But the recon team were quickly eradicated before they could free the hostages. Although Seishoku too was knocked out, he took down four of the mercenaries, and Hanabi took down one, leaving just her and the leader left.

"Give up, girl!" The leader warned. "You don't stand a chance against me!" But Hanabi charged anyway, attempting to kill him with one Gentle Fist, but when she tried to make the attack, the leader caught her hand with perfect timing. And despite Hanabi's best effort, she couldn't break free, and was subjected to her hand being crushed.

"Aarrrghhh!" She screamed in agony and was kicked away. She tried to get up, but the leader grabbed her by her long hair.

"For your incompetence and arrogance, I'm gonna kill you, then the hostages! You should know by now! Having hostages is the best way to get what you want! The more people captured, the better! Now that your lesson is over, die!" He was about to strike her head and crush her skull, but he was kicked back by a new challenger: Konohamaru.

"You!" The leader growled.

"What...are you doing here...idiot?" Hanabi panted. "I had it...all under control!"

"Shut up." Konohamaru sighed. "I'm here to help...Now I'm gonna kill this bastard and save those people!" The hostages gave a look of insecurity, having seen Konohamaru perform. Even Hanabi was sketchy.

"You? Kill me?!" The leader laughed. "Alright! I'll give you one free shot! Hit me with your hardest!" Konohamaru smiled.

"That's all I need!" He said.

"Konohamaru, for God's sake, just get outta here!" Hanabi cried. "Mikoro gave her life to make sure you wouldn't die, don't let it be in vain!" But Konohamaru looked to her with very serious eyes that even got Hanabi scared.

"Shut up!" Then he formed a few hand signs. "Prepare to witness my new Jutsu!"

"What? I've never seen those hand signs!" Hanabi gasped. "Did he have a Jutsu he was hiding?!"

_"Focus..._" Konohamaru thought. "_Focus..._" His Chakra boomed straight up which made Hanabi gasp at its overwhelming power. "_Raise your Chakra...then...now!_"

"Wind-Style - Tornado's Cry!" Winds emitted all around Konohamaru, so strong, Hanabi had to clutch the ground to keep herself from being blown away.

"What...What immense Chakra..." Hanabi gasped. "How could I have missed this much power?!" Konohamaru screamed as he began to glow blue, making the leader nervous too. The glow was struggling to keep itself up, so one punch was Konohamaru's limit.

"One shot?!" Konohamaru yelled. "That is all I need!"

"W-W-Wait! Let's not be hasty here!" The leader pleaded. But it was too late, Konohamaru charged as fast as the wind for the leader.

"His speed!" Hanabi gasped. "It's astounding!" And with one punch to chest where his heart stood, the leader screamed in agony as he was brought to his knees and died on the spot. "And the power of his punches! He was never this strong! Where and when did he learn this Jutsu?!" But as fast as he defeated his foe, he quickly fell from lack of Chakra, but was caught by Hanabi.

"Yo..." Konohamaru panted. "Sarutobi..." Hanabi spoke. "I was an idiot...I let Mikoro die...But I promise you...I will get better...I won't stop until I get better..." At this, Hanabi gently smiled.

"Konohamaru...There is no doubt in my mind you are a powerful man...Your efforts just now proved that...But the road to becoming a Jonin does not simply end when you become a Jonin. Vigorous training, the ability to lead and the will to never give up are but just one of the few attributes that make a Jonin...But I know now, you will be a great ninja and do Mikoro proud..."

Konohamaru gently smiled to this as the medical team got to work healing Team 1, freeing the hostages and securing the mission.

When Konohamaru returned, he rested in his house for about three days to recover the Chakra he lost during his first ever Tornado's Cry. This also gave him plenty of time to think about his next steps on how to fulfil his promise and become a better ninja. Then he finally decided. He finally came to the Ichiraku ramen stand where sure enough, Naruto was there, feasting on his fourth ramen bowl.

"Hey boss!" Konohamaru greeted his childhood friend. Naruto took his eyes off his ramen to see Konohamaru.

"Oh hey!" Naruto cheered. "Finally better? C'mon, I'll treat you to some ramen!"

"No, not now. I need to ask you something..." Naruto grew curious and swung round to face Konohamaru. "Will you-" But he was interrupted by none other than Kakashi.

"Naruto!" His old Sensei called urgently. "You need to come quick, it's Sakura!"

"What's wrong?!" Naruto asked in worry.

"She's giving birth!"

"What?!" Naruto and Konohamaru screamed. With every energy they could muster, Naruto, Kakashi and Konohamaru rushed to the hospital. When they arrived, Naruto went straight to by his wife's side, while Konohamaru and Kakashi waited outside.

"I heard what happened on your first mission..." Said Kakashi.

"What did you hear?" Asked Konohamaru.

"You saved Hinata's sister by using a new Jutsu." Kakashi said.

"Then you missed the part where one of my teammates died trying to save me."

"You must never feel grief for a comrade that died for your sake. If you do, it will never go away."

"But if I had been stronger...maybe it would never have happened..."

"Then, you only have one option left. Grow stronger and make sure nobody else dies for you." Before long, the doors to the maternity door opened to reveal Tsunade, who was the main nurse in the operation.

"You can come in now." She said with a smile. Both ninja entered to witness a scene Konohamaru would never forget...

Naruto was sitting beside a lied-down Sakura as she held in her arms her and Naruto's child.

"Th-That's..." Konohamaru said in shock. Naruto smiled toward them. "Sensei...Konohamaru...Say hello to Haruhi..." Kakashi smiled through his mask, which he still refused to take off. Konohamaru, too, smiled in happiness. Before he could go ahead and say his first hello's to Naruto's daughter, Kakashi put a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder.

"Although Mikoro died trying to save you, she also died protecting the child you see before you. The Will of Fire...She will live on in her, as long as there are children that must be protected..." Kakashi's short speech drew a short tear to Konohamaru's eye as he said his first hello to his future student...

Three years later, after Konohamaru's grueling training with Naruto, he was now ready to become a Shinobi his grandfather would be proud of. After his legendary battle with Naruto, and his injuries were healed, he traveled to a spot he swore he wouldn't visit until he was ready; the grave of Mikoro in the middle of the Leaf's cemetery. It was a beautifully designed gravestone with the words...

** Mikoro Shiya **

**"May the winds of fortune guide you well."**

Konohamaru smiled peacefully as he was finally able to look at it without remorse or guilt. Now that he was the ninja Mikoro wanted him to be, he had no negative thoughts towards her. Just then, he felt a presence he was very familiar with.

"You can come out now, Hanabi." Konohamaru said. Indeed, Hanabi was hiding behind a tree, masking her Chakra as much as possible, and when Konohamaru noticed her, she was surprised. She came out.

"Amazing! You found me, even though I was masking my Chakra?" She asked.

"Looks as though you have a few chinks in your armour." He replied. She came next him.

"So you finally decided to come?" Hanabi asked. "I was a little concerned when you never showed for the funeral."

"I swore I'd never face her grave until I become a great ninja..." Konohamaru said.

"And are you?" Without saying anything, Hanabi jumped up and tried to kick Konohamaru in the back of the head, but Konohamaru swiftly dodged.

"That's rude..." He said, before lightly using his Wind Chakra to push her back. Hanabi chuckled at this.

"Without a doubt, you've exceeded my expectations." She said gaining her composure back. "The future Hokage has taught you well." Konohamaru remained silent, still paying his respects to Mikoro. "Just answer me one thing. Did you grow stronger just to satisfy Mikoro's last wish?"

"That's half the reason."

"And the other half?" Asked Hanabi.

"I wanted to be a role model for the future generations, like Naruto's children. They need bums like us to show them down the proper road. I want to be the guide to that future..." Hanabi smiled at Konohamaru's maturity. Quickly, Hanabi hopped over to the tree she hid behind before.

"Then perhaps you should offer these?" Hanabi came back with a bouquet of windflowers. Konohamaru smiled.

"Thank you, Hanabi..." Konohamaru said, as the two of them lay the bouquet next to Mikoro's gravestone.

A gentle breeze blew across the cemetery...


	39. Fight for Your Lives - Part 3

**Fight for Your Lives - Part 3**

Our attention now turns to Shikari Nara, Ayane Hotaru and Tatsuno Ichihara, who now engaged in battle a Shiten'no by the name of Futagoza. And before the three's eyes, Futagoza's human form was changing into something they did not expect.

"What in the world?!" Gasped Shikari.

"Looks as though the legends were true." Tatsuno remarked.

Futagoza's body began sprouting fur, his hands and feet morphed into paws, a strong tail grew from the end of his spine and his face stretched with fangs replacing his teeth, his ears grew as his eyes had a hint of bloodlust in them. Futagoza changed into a ten-foot tall werewolf.

"Surprised?" He growled. "As I mentioned before, the part of who I was, my Kekkei Genkai that keeps me the way I am, cannot be changed by mere Uchiha trickery!" Immediately he smashed his paws to the ground that created a large shockwave that sent the three flying.

"He's strong." Analysed Shikari.

"Yo Nara." Called Ayane. "He may be tough, but he's a physical attacker. Our specialty, remember?" Shikari knew what she was talking about; he can trap Futagoza in his Shadow Possession and Ayane's Body Possession would seal the fight in an instant.

"Got'cha!" Shikari grinned. Ayane smiled and charged for the Uchiha hybrid.

"Direct assaults? Don't make me laugh!" But Shikari quickly used his distraction and got him in his signature Jutsu's grip.

"Alright! Shadow Possession successful!" Shikari cheered. Ayane then jumped up and pressed her finger to Futagoza's head, which was marked by the symbol of her clan.

"That was too easy..." Thought Tatsuno.

"Take that!" She smiled. Futagoza remained still, now under Ayane's control. "Now then..." She turned to face Shikari. "Lets-"

Ayane was smacked by Futagoza's giant paw, ripping her back to ribbons and sending her flying to the wall on the other side of the room. When she hit the ground, she wasn't moving, and a pool of blood was forming around her. Shikari only watched as she was tossed aside like a ragdoll.

"Phew!" Sighed Futagoza. "That felt good!" The mark on his forehead was gone, and his shadow was no longer invaded.

"Ayane!" Screamed Shikari. He quickly ran to her aid, not wanting to hear how he countered their plan. While Shikari went to Ayane, Tatsuno stepped up to the plate to face Futagoza.

"I see, looks like the legends weren't fake..." He said, hiding his worry for Ayane.

"What legends were that?" Asked Futagoza, feigning interest.

"You took the pact of the werewolf and gained the strength of a thousand men, right?"

"That sounds about right."

"Once sworn, you can now transform into a beast that can rip opponents to shreds. But that's not all. In that form, you are immune to non-elemental Jutsu. Jutsu such as the Nara Clan's Shadow Jutsu and the Hotaru Clan's Body Possession Jutsu. It pretty much means you cannot be harmed by Genjutsu and most Ninjutsu."

"Clever boy. How did you come across such knowledge?"

"I have my sources. But there's two flaws in your Jutsu. The first and most obvious is your susceptibility to Nature-Changed Jutsu, like Fire or Wind. The second is you cannot look at the full moon without your form going berserk." Futagoza smiled.

"It looks as though I found a ninja whose done his homework on me." Said Futagoza with a snigger.

"Knowledge is power my furry friend. It was knowledge that helped our next Hokage vanquish the Akatsuki. Likewise, it will be my knowledge on you that will be your downfall."

"Oh really? You're a Genin! By definition you shouldn't be able to make a simple Earth-Style Jutsu!"

"Don't be too sure, Futagoza...I have quite an interesting Jutsu." He cracked his knuckles and prepared for combat. "I am able to control the will of Jutsu!"

"The will of Jutsu?"

"Yes." Replied Tatsuno. "When a Jutsu is used on someone, the user infuses it with his or her will, to defeat the enemy they see before them. When a Genjutsu is used, the user uses it with his or her will to let the opponent see what they want them to see, for example. The Jutsu which you're shrouded in is a pretty far-fetched one, so I can't control it that easily. But for regular Jutsu with a simple objective?" Then, Futagoza jumped to avoid a Wind Cannon from Shikari.

"Brat! He knows Wind Jutsu!?" Futagoza growled.

"Yes." Said Tatsuno. "Rather advantageous don't you think?" When the werewolf Uchiha looked back to Tatsuno, he was holding the Wind Cannon in his hand. "I am able to bend the will of Shikari's Jutsu. Rather than 'kill this bastard', I'm giving it my own will: 'defeat you'." The Wind Cannon blasted back to Futagoza which was faster and stronger, hitting him directly in the face.

"What the?!" He growled.

"Jutsu aren't tools for destruction, they're a part of that person and therefore has the very essence of that being. Though the Jutsu can't converse with the owner, I can to any Jutsu that comes my way. And my personality towards them makes them do even better when I convince them to follow my will. Shikari-kun's Wind Jutsu just now was filled with hate for you, but when I stopped it, calmed it down and convinced it, it was more than happy to attack you in my fashion...It's a very interesting Jutsu, when you get the hang of it." Futagoza finally recovered from the attack.

"You talk some amount of crap!" He growled.

"I get that a lot from those I meet. Even Sensei had a hard time grasping the concept when I first explained it." Tatsuno quickly went over to Shikari and Ayane. "You okay? That Jutsu of yours was pretty hateful." Shikari was shaking with anger, mad at Futagoza for Ayane.

"Aren't you?! He hurt your friend!" Shikari yelled.

"Well part of my Jutsu's requirements is a level-head." Tatsuno lightly spoke. He went over to Ayane. "This battle is far out of your hands, rest here and concentrate on recovering." Ayane who was barely conscious gave a gentle nod. "Now, Shikari, we must battle him together. You are the key to this battle's success." Shikari took a moment and composed himself.

"Got it!" He said at last.

"Attaboy." Tatsuno smiled and faced Futagoza. "I hope you understood how my Jutsu works, Cus we have no time to go over it."

"I got the gist of it." Shikari said, drawing on his legendary scythe, Tatsumaki Tansen. "Let's hope you can talk this weapon's attacks into working for you." Futagoza merely grinned.

"Wonderful! Now let's see what this dynamic duo is made of!" He charged with his great speed and attempted to kick Shikari, but he let loose a giant wave of wind from his scythe that Futagoza barely dodged.

"Now!" Tatsuno commanded and took control of the blast of wind and sent it hurtling back at the Shiten'no.

"Grargghh!" He yelled as it made contact, giving him a light bruise to the face.

"Man, this guy's tough! That blast should have torn his head off!" Growled Shikari. Futagoza quickly recovered and smiled.

"Impressive, but can you handle this?!" He let loose a flurry of punches and kicks, but Shikari matched him blow for blow, with his speed of wind. Finally, Shikari slashed at Futagoza that created a Wind shockwave at him. He seen the attack coming and dodged it in time, but forgot about Tatsuno and the cunning Leaf ninja reflected the blast back at him. "Grgghhhh!" Shikari and Tatsuno regrouped.

"Looks like we're winning!" Shikari said, staying focused.

"Don't jinx it." Tatsuno replied. "We need to finish him quickly, so we can advance to Yamishin!"

"Grrr! This isn't looking good..." Growled Futagoza to himself. "If I don't end this soon, Yamishin-Sama's gonna be pissed off again...Need to finish it now!" He looked around for anything to try and use against them and seen just the thing.

"Let's go!" Called Shikari as he charged with his scythe at the ready. But Futagoza darted to the right.

And it happened again...

Futagoza was clutching Ayane by the head and holding her up to Shikari.

"No, no, no!" Cried Tatsuno.

"Hehehe!" Futagoza darkly chuckled. "You know my strategy then! Don't attempt to attack me, or I crush her head! Don't attempt to dodge or I crush her head! And don't attempt to run or I crush her head! Hahaha!"

"You bastard! Can't any of you fight fairly?!" Yelled Shikari.

"You're more than happy to attack, but then, I can't guarantee the girl's survival!" Futagoza replied. Shikari, like the last time this happened, tried to figure out how to free Ayane from his grasp. But before he could, Futagoza charged for an attack.

"Damn it!" Shikari growled and had no choice but to take a painful kick, sending him flying to the wall of the tower.

"Shikari!" Cried Tatsuno. But Futagoza was already on the war path towards him. He was about to dodge, but remembered Ayane, and also took a slash and kick to the chest. "Grargghhhh!" He collided with a pillar and lost consciousness. The only one barely conscious was Shikari, but his body was in so much pain he couldn't move.

"Damn it...damn it...!" He coughed. Futagoza laughed uncontrollably.

"You Leaf ninja are too easy! The moment your friends are in danger, you fall like a tower of cards! Oh well, time to take out the trash!" He began to crush Ayane's head; this made her gain consciousness and cry out in pain, something that haunted Shikari.

"What...was it all for...?" He cried in pain. "My training was to stop my friends from getting hurt! What was it all for...if I can't protect Ayane?!" Then at last, Ayane spoke with a cry.

"I'M SORRY!"


	40. Fight for your Lives - Part 4

**Fight for Your Lives -Part 4**

Onto the final group, Maruya was prepared to fight the youngest Shiten'no, Ubu, who was already charging for her recklessly.

"A direct assault on a member of the ANBU Black Ops, she really is an amateur." Commented Mitsuko, her arms folded. Ubu, in blind rage threw a punch for Maruya and to everyone's surprise, her fist ignited in flames and when the punch was thrown, it let loose a wave of fire that would have incinerated Maruya, had it not been for her timely dodge and jumped away.

"Th-That was close...!" Maruya gasped. "I would've been a leaf goose if that attack hit!" Ubu stopped her charge and looked at the flaming hole she made in the tower's wall.

"Huh. Yamishin-sama should get this place decorated." Squeaked Ubu cutely.

"Is this girl for real!?" Haruhi yelled.

"That's a really interesting Jutsu." Smiled Maruya. "No hand signs, no warning, it seems like one you don't want to meddle with." Ubu looked at her in confusion.

"Jutsu? What Jutsu?" She asked. Haruhi felt like smacking her palm to her forehead to this.

"But how's your dodging?" Asked Maruya and fired a really weak Kensei Sentou from her palm. But unfortunately, it hit Ubu and knocked her off her feet.

"Wow that was easy." Said Mitsuko. But it was far from over, as now Ubu was crying on the ground.

"Waaaahhh!" She wailed. "That hurt!" But something was off: the tears she was forming began to literally flood the room.

"What the?!" Haruhi gasped. Then once the room was at least waist high, while Ubu ignorantly used her Chakra to float to the surface, a giant tsunami came for the three. To counter, Maruya fired a much more powerful Kensei Sentou at the tidal wave to stop its warpath, and another to the bottom of the tower to drain the water away. Once again, Ubu looked up to see her three challengers completely drenched.

"Did you hop into a bath or something?"

"This girl is something else!" Mitsuko yelled. Maruya thought for a moment.

"Ummm...Ubu. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Perhaps if we surrendered and you take us to Yamishin, you can calm down?" She smiled happily at this.

"Yay! I get to capture Leaf Ninja!" She jumped up and down in joy. But to their horror, Wind Chakra raged out of her and formed a mini-tornado in the battlefield that made it hard for the three to stay on their feet.

"Wagh!" Haruhi screamed. "What is up with her?! It's like when she turns a new leaf, she throws a new Jutsu at us!" Mitsuko, about to be enveloped in the tornado, took action.

"Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu!" She blasted it in the tornado that made it combust and dispel. They all panted, now out of the devilish winds.

"What is this girl?!" Haruhi breathed.

"I read stories about this girl." Said Maruya. "A clan of extraordinary value. Their emotions are their powers. Depending on the user's emotion, they launch a variety of elemental attacks. When she launched that fire attack, she was angry. When she flooded the room, she was sad. And just now, she was happy when she conjured that twister. But despite their power, their clans were constantly under attack and eventually were wiped out, despite Naruto's best efforts. Although I didn't know one of them fell into Yamishin's grubby hands. If she were a few years older, she'd no doubt be Yamishin's most lethal soldier. But being young too also has its flaws. At a young age when her emotions are flared, she is completely unpredictable."

"Whoa..." Mitsuko gasped. "Never knew she had this kinda power..."

"What should we do?" Asked Haruhi. Maruya sighed.

"You two go on ahead. Only I can overcome her."

"What?! You can't defeat her if she's an emotional train wreck!" Haruhi argued.

"Don't question your commander!" Yelled Maruya. "Go, or so help me, Naruto will hear about it!" Haruhi gulped.

"Don't die!" Haruhi cried as Mitsuko led her away.

"Hey!" Yelled Ubu! "Don't ignore me!" She charged for them but Maruya diverted her hand that caused the same fire blast. Haruhi and Mitsuko managed to escape, but Maruya received a light burn on her hand. "Miss! Your hand!"

"Just a burn." Maruya laughed, trying to mask the pain.

Meanwhile with Haruhi and Mitsuko, they were advancing forward to Yamishin's tower.

"Your friend sure is arrogant!" Said Mitsuko as they ran. "Ubu may be young, but Yamishin's made her strong. Your friend either has an elaborate plan against her, or she's a complete idiot!"

"That's enough!" Yelled Haruhi. "I have faith Maruya will defeat her! That's all I need!"

"Hmph! Faith..." Growled Maruya. But suddenly, there came a violent explosion that blew the two back.

"My, my..." Called a sinister female voice. "The Leaf must be really confident if they're sending pigtail'd girls to fight Yamishin!" The two girls looked at their new enemy descend upon them evilly.

Back at Ubu and Maruya, Ubu was now in a state of tantrum, for letting the two go, but as she stamped the ground in rage, the tower shook in violent shockwaves, creating a large earthquake. Maruya did all she could to avoid the powerful quakes, but a large rock emerged from the ground and uppercut her in the jaw knocking her away.

"Oww!" She groaned.

"Why won't you fight back?!" Ubu cried. She let loose more fiery punches, but despite Ubu's million openings, Maruya didn't counter or block, only dodge, or let the fiery swipes singe her.

"I made a promise!" Maruya said, now backing away. "When I was a Chunin, I encountered a group of bandits that take children for ransom and sell them back to their parents for extortionate prices, or just sell them as slaves. If the children were too feisty, they'd beat them within the inch of their life, or worst, kill them. After seeing the horror of their actions, I swore I'd never lower myself to that kind of actions and never lay my hand on a child! Even if I die, I'll never do such a vile thing!" Ubu listened to Maruya's story, and was stunned by it.

"Th-Then I'll have to kill you!" Ubu said with feigning aggression.

"If you insist." She said, unafraid.

"B-But you were gonna give up! Let me just take you prisoner and you can live!" Ubu tried to convince.

"Sorry, I lied there just to provoke a response. So if you wanna kill me, go right ahead." Ubu gulped.

"I...I never killed anyone before...But I can't let you live! Yamishin-sama always taught me to kill Leaf Ninja, or they'll kill me the first chance they got!" She shook. Maruya sighed and smiled softly, before approaching Ubu. "S-Stay back!" Her fear in the approaching Maruya caused her Chakra to flair out as Lightning, causing a giant lightning storm to form overhead. But Maruya still came forward, unafraid of the lightning that struck nearby. Soon, she was in front of the little Shiten'no, who cowered in fear before her. Finally, she crawled into a ball, ready to await whatever cruel finisher Maruya could try.

The unexpected happened: Maruya wrapped her arms softly around Ubu, hugging her warmly.

"Wh-What...?" Ubu squeaked.

"You don't have to fight either. Nor do you have to obey Yamishin anymore...If he told you Leaf ninja will kill you the first chance they got, then let me show you I'm not like that." Ubu began to swell up and cry in Maruya's arms, but the hole Maruya previously created stopped the room from flooding again. "There, there..." She smiled, having done her duty and swayed Ubu on the right path.

But suddenly, there came an explosion on the exit Haruhi and Mitsuko left from, and the two girls were blown back into the room, rejoining Maruya and Ubu, albeit very weakened.

"Haruhi?! Mitsuko?!" Gasped Maruya. The two girls stubbornly got on their feet, as a woman, cloaked like the rest with long dark purple hair, evil eyes and a deadly smile entered after the two.

"Hmm?" The woman spoke and looked to the hiccupping Ubu.

"Oh no!" Whispered Ubu in fear, causing slight discharges of Lightning. "It's Kyofu! One of the Shiten'no..."

"I thought you were the Shiten'no of this tower?" Maruya asked. The woman called Kyofu snorted at Ubu.

"Trying to steal my prey again, brat?!" She growled. Ubu got up from Maruya's arms, brushed the dirt from her cloak and bowed to Kyofu.

"I'm very sorry, Kyofu-sama..." She hiccupped. The fearsome woman ignored her apology and smacked Ubu half way across the room, causing her to cry again.

"You're a pathetic excuse for an Uchiha! All you do is cry and whine! I'll be doing Yamishin-sama a favour by killing you!" Kyofu growled, but before she could lay another hand on her, Maruya intercepted, grabbing Ubu and blocking her swing.

"Leave her alone!" She commanded. "If you so much as raise your hand to her again, I'll kill you!" Kyofu growled and jumped back as Maruya got ready for battle. Haruhi and Mitsuko regrouped with them.

"You made Ubu your friend?!" Mitsuko chuckled. "Resourceful, but it would've been faster just to kill her." Ubu blew raspberries at Mitsuko.

"We need to be careful, Maruya." Said Haruhi. "She's tough. It's like whenever we come close to her, my body feels like its getting chills..."

"Like you're afraid..." Ubu said, hugging onto Maruya's pants.

"Haruhi, Mitsuko, I want you to take Ubu, meet with the others and take out Yamishin." Commanded Maruya. "This woman is a fearsome opponent; therefore it's up to me to defeat her." Haruhi grimaced as she looked between her and her opponent.

"Don't lose..." Haruhi gulped as she and Mitsuko lead Ubu away from the fight.

"Don't have a tea party with her now!" Mitsuko called as she left.

"Good luck, Leaf woman!" Called Ubu in encouragement as the three left for Yamishin's tower. The two remaining girls stood their ground to face each other.

"You're brave for a Leaf girl." Kyofu chuckled.

"Brave enough!" She said as she charged with a Kensei Sentou ready. But when she fired it point blank range, Kyofu still dodged it. It was now the Shiten'no's turn to attack; she positioned her hand as if to flick Maruya away, but Maruya seeing the attack coming jumped back.

"Why did you back away?" Asked Kyofu.

"Your attack would have been lethal had I not dodged." Kyofu smirked.

"That 'attack' had no power behind it whatsoever. If I attacked, all it would have surmounted to was you with a sore head. So now I'll tell you why you dodged. Fear!"

"Fear?" Maruya asked.

"You dodged because you feared my power just now!"

"Y-You're wrong!" Maruya fought back.

"Everything the world does have some degree of fear in it. Every battle has fear that if one side loses, they'll face the consequences of defeat! The entire ninja world came together to stop one man because they feared his potential to end the world! Now it's why you and your kindergarten of brats are here! You wish to halt Yamishin-sama's plans because you fear him!"

"I only heard of him less than two hours ago." Admitted Maruya.

"But you fear what he can do!"

"Of course all battle has fears! It's what makes us humans stronger!" She fired a Kensei Sentou at Kyofu, but she dodged easily.

"Good. The ones who know fear are easy to torment." Her eyes glowed red as her Mangekyo Sharingan awoke. Maruya instantly looked away, to be not caught up in any nasty Genjutsu. But Kyofu seen this as an opportunity and struck Maruya while her eyes weren't focused.

"Why you!" She growled and jumped back. But Kyofu was nowhere to be seen, gone from the entire area. "She must be after the girls!" Quickly Maruya ran for the door to Yamishin's tower, but then, it was blocked by a blood red aura, and so was everything around her. No matter where she looked, there were no safe spots.

"Fear!" Maruya heard an evil voice echo in her mind. Then from the blood red miasma around her came grotesque beings made of the same substance. "Fear what you cannot comprehend!" Then her most painful memories began to flood into her mind. Memories that she thought was long gone thanks to the cherished memories she gained from her Sensei, her daughter and her comrades of the Leaf. Timid and afraid now, she grasped her head, wanting to shake the feelings of despair and anxiety.

"No! Stop it!" She cried out. Then one of the red beings latched itself onto Maruya, bringing her down into the red haze itself. "Please, I'll do anything!" She screamed as if recounting a past memory too painful to endure. Then another phantom latched on to her, bringing her down even further as if it were quicksand.

"Good..." Rang a heinous voice from around her as the other beasts surrounded and covered her completely, making her sink into the very depths of the mist. Maruya did not struggle as the last of her essence was swallowed up.

"Now that you know fear, sink into it's never ending abyss."

**A/N: Now that the battles in the four towers have been decided, what will happen now? Will Hanabi and her sister's children be torn from the inside and out? Will Shikari and the two members of Hanabi's team be mutilated by the Wolf man they find themselves against? Will Maruya find a way out of Kyofu's dark fear swamp? And how will Haruhi, Mitsuko, Ubu, Takai and Konohamaru overcome an enemy that far exceeds the powers the Leaf team could barely come up against? Find out soon!**


	41. A New Challenge

**A New Challenge**

Konohamaru and Takai, having successfully defeated their opponent and healing their wounds, advanced through the dark tower in which they found themselves in. The spiral staircase they ran through had a dark eerie tone to it.

"How are the others?" Asked Konohamaru, coming to terms that Takai can read minds near him.

"They're too far to read minds…But I can sense horrible Chakra in the areas they were in…"

"I hope they're okay…" Spoke the leader in remorse. Soon the two emerged from the dark corridor to a naturally lit hall with three other doors behind him and a large door at the end of the hall.

"Those three doors, they must be the doors leading to the other Shiten'no." Takai identified.

"But why isn't any of them here yet?" Asked Konohamaru in worry. "Could it be those bastards killed them?"

"Calm down, Sensei." Said Takai. "You're letting your emotions compromise you."

"I don't care!" Yelled Konohamaru. "That's Naruto's daughter and my friends down there! I'm going to help them!" But when he charged to one random door, that door burst open to reveal Haruhi and Mitsuko.

"Sensei?!" Haruhi gasped.

"Haruhi!" Konohamaru sighed in relief.

"You made it out okay." Smiled Takai to Mitsuko.

"It was no problem." Smirked Mitsuko.

"Wait, where's Maruya? She was on your team." Konohamaru said.

"The Shiten'no we fought against was too powerful." Reported Haruhi. "Maruya stayed behind to fight her alone…" The nervousness in Konohamaru returned.

"Before you scare Sensei further…" Began Takai. "Who's that?" He pointed at the doorway and the others seen a timid Ubu emerge from the darkness.

"Oh!" Haruhi spoke. "This is Ubu, she was at the tower to start with, but now wants to help."

"L-Leaf Ninja…" The young girl timidly spoke.

"It's okay, Ubu." Haruhi smiled. "These are my friends. Takai-kun and Konohamaru-sensei."

"Takai?!" Ubu gasped.

"Ubu?" Spoke Takai. "You mean the little girl Yamashin revived all those years ago?"

"The same." Mitsuko said. "But before we get caught up in anymore emotional reunions…" She stepped up to the large gate. "What do you say we put an end to Yamishin?"

"What about Shikari-kun? And Hanabi-sensei?" Asked Haruhi. "We can't fight him alone."

"Way I see it…" Said Mitsuko. "The weak that fall behind, stay behind." But this comment only made Konohamaru punch her in the face, so hard she flew to the other side of the hall.

"That was a warning shot!" Yelled Konohamaru. "Say any more foul things about my friends, and I will kill you!" This made those around Konohamaru grew hostile.

"Sensei!" Yelled Takai in anger.

"Wahh!" Wailed Ubu in fright. "Scary Leaf ninja!"

"Y-You wanna fight?!" Yelled Mitsuko as she recovered from the attack. But before a fight could ensue, they heard a feint laughter as the doors to the other side of the hall opened, revealing a familiar face: Ryoko, the left hand man of Yamishin.

"I came here to congratulate those that defeated the Shiten'no, but it looks like had I come a moment later, there'd be nobody left to congratulate." He chuckled.

"I know you!" Said Konohamaru, remembering the ninja who attacked them before they could infiltrate the castle.

"It's been a while, Leaf ninja." He spoke. "But it looks as though you've discarded a few allies and acquired new ones."

"Why you…" Haruhi growled.

"Ubu!" Called Ryoko. "Why do you side with the enemy? Have you forgotten the sacrifices Yamishin-sama made for you?"

"I-I know…" Said Ubu timidly. "B-But these ninja are better than Yamishin…" Ryoko took offense to this and charged for the girl to attack.

"Nobody disrespects Yamishin-sama on my watch!" He yelled. But before he could attack, a combination of Konohamaru, Haruhi and Takai countered him, throwing him back.

"Nobody hurts my friends on my watch." Argued Haruhi.

"Miss Haruhi…" Ubu gasped, being called a friend.

"Fine, then." Ryoko spoke. "If you want to die with these fools, I will gladly oblige!" He took off his long cloak to reveal his muscled body under a black vest. What everyone found odd was a great number of tattoos on his body.

"Those are seals." Identified Konohamaru.

"Very perceptive." Spoke Ryoko. "I am the strongest person in this castle, save for Yamishin-sama himself. If I don't limit my Chakra output with these seals, let's just say there wouldn't be a castle left to call Yamishin-sama's."

"Then you weren't fighting us seriously?" Asked Konohamaru.

"Nope. What you seen before was 20% of my overall power. However…" He placed his two fingers on two tattoos on his chest. "I will now release two seals to show 50% of my power!" The tattoos on his chest vanished and Chakra surged all around them.

"What incredible…Chakra…" Gasped Konohamaru. "Everyone, be on your-" But his sentence was cut short as Ryoko unleashed a large scale explosion on the group, much more powerful than the ones he used on them before. Fortunately, Haruhi emerged with Ubu with light injuries, while Konohamaru, Takai and Mitsuko emerged unhurt.

"Hah! You came out of that one well." Smiled Ryoko.

"What incredible power…" Haruhi growled, clutching her side, which had a burn on it.

"Of course, he's Yamishin's lieutenant." Said Mitsuko. "He makes the Shiten'no put together look like weak Genin. What makes him strong is that power of his. As long as he sees his opponent, he can make explosions anywhere." Konohamaru however, smiled to this.

"Well I guess that makes him my opponent." He recovered and got into his Tornado's Cry form. "Stand back, guys. This is gonna be quite a ride!" He vanished in a high-speed charge, but what was most unbelievable was Ryoko simply tilted his head to the side and a lighter explosion combusted, and blasted back a weakened Konohamaru. "Wh-What the?!"

"What?!" Cried Haruhi. "But I couldn't even follow that attack!" Ryoko walked up to Haruhi and looked down on her with his red eyes.

"Sharingan, kid." He chuckled. "If you haven't already discovered, I can follow your movements, no matter how fast." Haruhi froze in fear of the fearsome power Ryoko possessed. Out of instinct, she tried to power a Rasengan, but Ryoko seen the attack coming a millisecond into her scheme and kicked Haruhi away. Though now hurt, she did her best to shield Ubu from harm.

"Haruhi!" Yelled Takai in worry.

"Miss Haruhi, are you okay?" Hiccupped Ubu in worry.

"I'm fine…" She said in exhaustion.

"Attack at once!" Commanded Konohamaru as him, Mitsuko and Takai attempted to attack Ryoko altogether, but it mattered little, as in quick succession, Ryoko fired off three difference blasts at his three assailants, blasting them away.

"He's…Too strong…" Haruhi grunted in pain.

"Now where was I?" Ryoko childishly played around. "Ah, yes. The young brat who disrespected Yamishin-sama!" He walked over to Ubu.

"Don't come any closer!" Threatened Haruhi.

"Oh, and what are you going to do?" Ryoko smirked casually. Haruhi knew protecting the child was all that mattered, so she did the only thing she could to protect her.

"Yamisin is the weakest piece of trash in the world! I bet even a-!" The first sentence was enough to set Ryoko mad. He grabbed Haruhi by the throat, making her flail around in pain.

"Care to repeat that, you stinking Leaf bitch?!" He yelled in furious anger.

"Miss Haruhi, no!" Cried Ubu.

"I…I'm sorry…" Said Haruhi past her gasping for air. "That was an insult to pieces of trash…" She lightly chuckled to this, but now Ryoko's anger was at breaking point as he threw her up into the air and ignited an explosion a few feet away, causing her to be blasted into the wall and crash to the ground painfully.

"Miss. Haruhi, please no more!" Cried Ubu.

"I won't!" Haruhi weakly growled. "I'll protect you, Ubu…"

"But why?!" Cried Ubu. "I'm an Uchiha! I wanted to kill you!"

"I don't care! The way I see you isn't a killer or somebody who I need to hate. I just see you as an ordinary girl who needs my protecting!" She now smiled in confidence as she came up with an expert idea. She formed a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Hundreds of Haruhis were summoned all around Ryoko.

"Shadow Clones, huh?" Ryoko laughed. "What will those do?!" Immediately, Haruhi began her ultimate scheme.

"Yamishin stinks!"

"Yamishin couldn't fight his way past a target dummy!"

"I bet Yamishin couldn't use a Kunai to pick his nose!"

Every single Haruhi began yelling insults at Yamishin, something that made Ryoko fume up in rage.

"Shut up!" He commanded in rage. But no matter what, the Haruhi's kept insulting. "I SAID SHUT UP!" He extended his arms outwards to cause explosions all around him, causing the mass army of Haruhi Shadow Clones to be wiped out in seconds. "Did you like that, huh?!" But then, the real Haruhi emerged from the smoke filled room with a Rasengan ready, and hitting his blind spot, slipped past Ryoko undetected.

"Rasengan!" She called and hit Ryoko in the back, propelling him away and crashing him into a wall.

"Awesome, Miss. Haruhi!" Cheered Ubu.

"Heh, not bad." Grinned Takai, now recovering from his light injuries.

"Thata girl." Laughed Konohamaru.

"Don't get too cocky, guys." Said Mitsuko, the only one not impressed by Haruhi's clever plan. "That little stunt just awakened a slumbering nightmare." From the rubble came Ryoko, grunting in pain of Haruhi's attack.

"Heh." Haruhi snorted. "Didn't expect it to be this easy." She said, preparing for battle once more. Ryoko, however, was still enraged at the audacity of Haruhi.

"You asked for it, 100% is now yours to see!" He placed his hands on the remainder of his tattoos as they vanished completely, crushing the five with it's immense Chakra.

"What power…" Takai gasped.

"I can eradicate every one of you with this power alone!" Ryoko growled. "But I'm going to let you have a taste of true despair. He formed a hand sign and focussed all his Chakra into his palm then forced it into the ground.

"Ultimate Summoning Jutsu! Grand Dragon Bahamut!" A great dust massive cloud emerged from the ground. The five were now at the mercy of whatever was behind that terrible fog, but whatever it was, they knew it couldn't be good…


End file.
